


Finding Magic

by akanyanen, travelingpsycho



Category: Arashi (Band), Japanese Actor RPF, Johnny's Entertainment, KAT-TUN (Band), Kanjani8 (Band), NewS (Band)
Genre: AU, Angst, Friendship, Humor, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-01-30
Updated: 2012-01-30
Packaged: 2017-10-30 08:34:49
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 62,629
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/329845
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/akanyanen/pseuds/akanyanen, https://archiveofourown.org/users/travelingpsycho/pseuds/travelingpsycho
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Prince Ryo and his noble <strike>sidekick</strike> friend Hiroki embark on a quest to see the world, make new friends, slay a dragon, and put off getting married as long as possible.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Finding Magic

Once upon a time, in a far-off land called Osaka, there lived a boy named Ryo. Actually, he was more of a grown man than a boy, and therein lay the problem. You see, Ryo was a prince, and as a prince, there were certain things expected of him: being strong and courageous, skilled with sword and bow; being wise, with knowledge about science, magic and history alike; and, of course, finding a beautiful noblewoman to marry so that one day when he became king, she would sit by his side as his queen.

Being strong wasn't a problem, not since he'd finally grown into a man's body, and he'd been learning to fight since he was a child. "Wise" might not be the right word, but his parents had forced him to study when he was younger and now he read about all kinds of topics that interested him. It was only that last part that was a problem, because Ryo had no desire to marry anyone, noble or not.

It wasn't that he had a problem with women. They looked pretty in their fine dresses at the banquets and balls his parents threw. He liked their soft giggles and their soft kisses. But when he thought about finding a woman to be with for the rest of his life, to rule with and to have children with, it made him feel what could only be described as sheer panic. He wasn't ready for that, and he didn't know if he ever would be.

His parents, unfortunately, would hear nothing of it. "If you don't marry, you can't become king," his father said flatly. "You want to become king, don't you?" Ryo wasn't actually sure he did, but he knew he'd give both his parents heart attacks if he said that, so he kept his mouth shut.

"You just need to meet the right girl," his mother reassured him. "Then you'll find that marriage doesn't sound so bad."

Uchi Hiroki, the son of one of his father's advisors and Ryo's best friend, was rather less kind when Ryo confessed about his worries to him. "Maybe you're just not interested in girls, Ryo-chan," he teased as they sparred in the castle yard. He probably would've kept going, but Ryo disarmed him and effectively shut him up with the point of his sword against Hiroki's throat. 

That might shut him up for now, but Ryo knew he hadn't heard the last of Hiroki's teasing, especially since he seemed to have found a new sensitive spot, just perfect for poking at obnoxiously like Hiroki always did. Ryo felt his mood turning sour. It was only made marginally better when Hiroki surrendered, raising his hands reluctantly and pouting as he admitted to being bested _again_ by Ryo. Ryo could count how many times Hiroki had beat him on one hand, and they'd been sparring like this almost every day for years.

"You suck at this," Ryo reminded him with a smirk.

"Yeah, yeah, gloat all you want," Hiroki grumbled, dusting the dirt off his new pants and frowning as he retrieved his sword. 

"One more round?" Ryo offered, grinning when Hiroki scoffed at him. 

"Only if we get to talk about your girl issues." Hiroki grinned wickedly, sheathing his sword in answer to Ryo's offer. 

"Off with his head," Ryo muttered to himself, and turned around to stalk back to the castle. He was hungry anyway, and Hiroki didn't offer much of a challenge as a sparring partner in the first place.

 

Ryo's mood had improved significantly by that evening, but it took a nosedive back into Grumpville at dinner when his mother again broached his least favorite topic. "We've decided to have a ball next week!" she declared cheerfully, like she had no idea how Ryo felt about such things. "Aren't you excited?” His little sister Moe looked excited, at least, although whether it was for the ball or at the prospect of Ryo being embarrassed, he wasn’t sure. “Girls from all over the country are coming,” his mother continued, “and I'm sure you'll have a wonderful time meeting them."

It wasn't hard to guess what she meant by that: you'll find a girl to marry. Ryo was well-mannered enough to not roll his eyes or groan at that, but he couldn't hold back a sigh. "It won't be so bad, Ryo," his father assured him. "These are well-bred girls and I'm sure they'll manage to make conversation even if you barely say a word."

_Great,_ Ryo thought. _Even the king is laughing at me._

"Besides," his father continued in a less reassuring tone, "it's high time you found someone. Don't waste this opportunity." He had on his kingly face that meant what he was saying was not a request.

"I won't," Ryo promised, in his best dutiful son voice. Inside, he wondered, _Why me?_

 

As expected, Hiroki had nothing but mocking to offer when Ryo whined to him about the upcoming ball. Some best friend he was. "You're supposed to be excited, you know," he said, lounging in a chair and watching as Ryo got measured for new clothes for the ball. "All these refined, noble girls coming here just to meet you. Some of them might even be hot. You're not interested at all?"

"It's not that I'm not interested," Ryo protested. "But they're all here because they want to _marry_ me and become _princesses_ and then be my _queen._ They don't give a damn if I have nice clothes or make good conversation . They just want to be queen."

"Aww, Ryo-chan," Hiroki said, with only a little bit of genuine sympathy. "You want someone who'll love you for you?"

Ryo glared at him. "I don't want to spend the rest of my life with someone just in it for the upgrade in status." He lifted his arms and tried to hold still while the tailor worked around him. No, the ball wasn't something to look forward to at all. He was expected to pick a queen out of a group of girls who had no interest in him as a person at all. Then he was supposed to live with them for the rest of his life. _No thank you,_ Ryo thought. 

Hiroki ignored the glare. "You'll have to stop being a grumpy old man and start being a charming prince if you want to win a lady’s heart."

"I hate you," Ryo grumbled. "You're no help at all." He tried not to fidget while the tailor took measurements of his waist and legs. "Why would I want to win their hearts?" he muttered under his breath. 

"We'll both have to do it eventually," Hiroki commented, looking slightly uncomfortable with the thought.

Ryo paused for a moment, trying to picture Hiroki married to a girl. "What's so funny?" Hiroki asked, eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"You. Married," Ryo managed to gasp out between laughs.

Hiroki's unamused expression just made Ryo laugh harder. "I'm glad you find this so amusing," Hiroki said, sarcasm lacing every word.

"Hey, if you're going to mock my suffering, don't expect me to not mock back," Ryo said, once his laughter had faded into a big grin.

He wouldn't admit it, but it actually made Ryo feel a little better that he wasn't the only one less than thrilled about the prospect of marriage. Hiroki didn't have the same pressure he did to find someone, but as the son of a nobleman and the heir to his estate, he was still expected to eventually settle down with a nice woman and have a son to follow in his footsteps. Despite having better people skills (especially with women) than Ryo, Hiroki didn't seem any more excited about meeting girls than Ryo was. It seemed neither of them was ready to settle down like that.

 

Soon enough (and much sooner than Ryo would've liked), the night of the ball arrived. Ryo dressed in his fine new clothes and headed to the great hall. His mother was waiting outside, and she took a moment to fuss over his already perfectly fine hair. "Do your best," she said encouragingly. "I know you don't want to do this, but if you're willing to try, maybe you'll actually enjoy it."

Ryo found that very doubtful, but he smiled anyway and promised to make an effort. At the very least, he should be able to be polite enough to not insult any important nobles' daughters. His parents might forgive him for failing to find a bride this time around, but that they wouldn't so easily forgive.

When his name was announced, Ryo walked down the stairs with an appropriate flourish. It didn't bother him, having every eye on him; this much he was good at. He greeted some of the nobles politely and directed his best dashing smile toward a group of women who looked about ready to faint in response to his attention. The usual, pretty much.

Except that when he got past the crowd at the foot of the stairs, a steward directed him to the other end of the hall. As he walked, he noticed, with dawning horror, what seemed to be a long line of eligible young women. _You've got to be kidding me,_ he thought, though he kept his smile steady. Was he supposed to talk to these women? _All_ of these women?

There must have been hundreds of them. Okay, maybe not _that_ many, but seriously, how could he make conversation with all of them? His parents were crazy. Wasn't there some kind of "no cruel or inhumane punishment" clause in Osaka law? Ryo had to admit that some of them were quite pretty but there was only so much soft giggling and so many "coy" glances he could take before he’d feel the urge to throw himself off the nearest balcony and onto the cobblestones below. 

There was a high tower in the east wing, Ryo contemplated as the steward led him to the front of the line. It felt more like a walk to the executioner's block to Ryo; he hoped his smile was still pasted on.

"Hello, your highness. It’s a pleasure to meet you. My name is Kamakura Ai." The young girl curtsied demurely, and Ryo bowed back in polite response; he was well trained. Only six more hours of hell to go, he thought to himself.

Kamakura Ai was the eldest daughter of a noble from the country, and she was (or so she claimed) an excellent piano player, touching the hearts of everyone who heard her. Honda Saki had four older brothers and told him in a girlish voice that she'd been studying martial arts since she learned to walk, followed by a cutesy giggle. Nishimura Yuko lived by what she claimed was the most beautiful beach in the world, and she invited Ryo to come visit when the weather got warmer (with no ulterior motive, he was sure).

The night dragged on as girl after girl tried to make her appeal to him, and that tower window sounded more and more tempting with each faux-shy giggle and piercingly-high voice. After the first couple hours, Ryo's smile got stiff, and a few hours later, the best he could manage was keeping his exasperation off his face. _Only a little more,_ he told himself, even though the line still seemed impossibly long. _You can get through this._

Many guests had already left by then, but the girls stayed, none of them about to give up this chance to meet the prince and capture his heart. Ryo's eyes were threatening to drift shut (though more from boredom than sleepiness) as the next girl introduced herself in a gratingly high-pitched voice as Uchida Mako. "Nice to meet you," Ryo mumbled, bowing automatically.

"You're not even looking at each girl? Your parents will never believe you tried to find a bride if you do that."

Ryo's head snapped up. He knew that voice, even if the teasing didn't give it away. "Hiroki? What the hell are you doing here?"

Hiroki was dressed just like the other girls, in a pink ball gown with his hair styled into corkscrew curls and pulled back with a bow and even perfect makeup, but he looked like the most gawky and unfeminine girl Ryo had ever seen. His cheeky grin didn't help the charade either; no potential bride would dare to look at Ryo like that, like she was amused at his misery and didn't care about showing it.

"I wanted to see your flirting techniques, Ryo-chan," Hiroki explained, grinning like he didn't think there was anything strange about him crossdressing and waiting in line for hours just for the chance to mock Ryo. "And I thought maybe if I really impressed you, you'd pick _me_!" He batted his eyes in what was probably supposed to be a flirtatious manner. Ryo cringed.

"You look terrible," he said, adding a glare for good measure. "You're not made for dresses. And like hell I'd pick you with all these much prettier girls to choose from."

Hiroki snickered at that, though Ryo couldn't entirely blame him when they both knew how much he didn't want to pick anyone. "Oh, really? Find anyone you like yet?"

Ryo darted a glance over at the next girl in line, hoping she couldn't hear what they were saying. She was looking put out, probably because Ryo was talking to Hiroki for longer and more comfortably than he had to any of the girls. "Go away," Ryo hissed. "You're making me look bad, and if I want to get out of here before sunrise I need to hurry up."

"Fine," Hiroki said, still grinning. "Good luck! Who knows, maybe somewhere in that line is the perfect girl for you."

Ryo scoffed. He highly doubted that. It must have taken hours for Hiroki to get dressed like that. Ryo was a little curious how he knew how to do all that, but he probably didn't want to know. He hoped Hiroki's weirdness wasn't contagious; they had spent a lot of time together, maybe too much. 

Ryo didn't miss the way the other girls glared at Hiroki as he retreated. The next girl flashed a very fake smile in his direction. If only they knew they were jealous of a cross-dressing guy. He glanced at the line. He was getting closer to the end, at least, which meant he was getting closer to freedom. He barely caught the next girl's name as she introduced herself and several facts about her that he couldn't care less about. He bowed and stared at a spot somewhere over her shoulder, nodding when she said something and hoping he could get through the rest of the line in the next hour. She seemed disappointed at not being able to catch his interest, but he didn't care enough to feel bad at this point.

Kaneko Michiru's voice was entirely too high pitched even if her chest was to Ryo's liking. He snapped his attention up and the look on her face, coy at best and brazenly flirtatious at worst, set him on edge. No, definitely not. He could practically hear the wedding bells going off in her head. Fear overruled any sort of attraction he had for her.

"If it's okay to ask, what _things_ do you want in a girl?" Kaneko asked, purposely clutching her hands together in front of her so her already big boobs were more obvious. Ryo fixed his gaze on her forehead and mumbled some sort of generic answer. 

"It was nice to meet you," he said blandly, a clear hint. He fidgeted until she left, and relief coursed through him when he realized there were only a few girls left. _I just might live through this,_ he thought.

At long last, he reached the final girl. He didn't even register her name, so tired and fed up that he didn't care if she was the most amazing girl in the world. (He was pretty sure she wasn't. Her voice was grating and she was wearing so much makeup she looked like an unattractive doll.) Finally, urged on by a stern look from the steward, she said goodbye and left.

Ryo waited until she was out the door to turn to the steward and say, not caring that he sounded like a whiny kid, "Can I go now?"

"Yes, that's all," the steward said, too polite to comment on Ryo's attitude. "Goodnight."

It was more like morning by then, the sun starting to come up as Ryo plodded back to his rooms, feeling worn out and dejected. He knew he was going to get another lecture from his parents after this, but he really had tried (at first) and he hadn't seen any girl he'd actually want to marry. How was he supposed to find someone to spend the rest of his life with based on a couple minutes of conversation? Those thoughts weighed heavily on his mind, but exhaustion was stronger and he fell asleep as soon as he got into bed.

 

Ryo slept until mid-afternoon, and he might have stayed in bed longer, but his parents "requested his presence" for dinner, so he dragged himself up and into clothes that he hoped said, "I am a good, loyal son; please don't yell at me just because I don't want to settle down yet." While he got ready, he tried to think of what he could say to explain not picking any girl out of that huge line. He could hardly say that they were all unsuitable, even if some clearly had been.

He walked to the dining hall slowly, wanting to delay the inevitable conversation about the previous night. He knew his parents would want to hear what he thought of the girls, and he was sure that "They were all boring and I can't imagine spending the rest of my life with any of them" wouldn't go over well.

The attendants opened the door and ushered him in before he could stall any longer. His mom smiled at him quickly before her expression became serious. His father had that look in his eye, the one Ryo knew meant he wasn't going to enjoy the upcoming conversation. His sister wasn’t there, which meant they intended to have a serious conversation with him.

"Ryo, sit down," his father commanded. Ryo nodded, obediently taking a seat across from his mother and trying to hide his uneasiness.

"Last night was intended to be an opportunity for you to select your future wife," his father said plainly. Ryo's grip on his spoon tightened before he set it down quietly. His mother looked worried, and Ryo was sure the displeasure was evident on his face. He wondered how he could convince them to let this marriage issue drop, at least for now.

His mother continued, "We realize it wouldn't be fair to make you choose one girl after only talking to them for a few moments." Ryo made a noncommittal noise, not sure where this was going.

"You'll get to know a few of the girls that caught your interest more and then choose." His father's tone left no room for argument, and Ryo could feel dread knotting itself tight in his stomach. What the hell kind of deal was that? "After dinner, tell the steward which girls you want to see again," his father ordered.

Ryo agreed politely, not because he actually wanted to but because he didn't have a choice. You didn't argue with the king, after all, even if he was your father. Maybe even less so if he was your father. Content with his response, the king moved on to the usual boring discussion of politics and the royal budget and the other joys of ruling a kingdom. _The way he talks,_ Ryo thought, _no wonder I'm not excited about becoming king._

When dinner was over, Ryo was eager to run away, but his mom stopped him for one last word. "It won't be so bad, honey," she said gently. "Just don't expect too much. She doesn't have to be the perfect girl, only someone to sit by your side and support you as you rule."

"So I don't even have to like her?" Ryo asked.

She smiled wryly. "It helps if you do. Surely there must be _some_ girl out there you could maybe come to love one day."

"I guess so." That seemed like a reasonable thing to say, but it was hard to pick out any girl who fit that description in the blur of the previous night's introductions.

His mom knew him well enough to know he wasn't convinced, but she just patted him on the shoulder. "Do what you need to do to get it figured out. I have faith in you."

Ryo nodded, and flashed her a quick smile. He didn't want to worry her too much. Back in his room, he tried to recall some of the girls from last night. Aki hadn’t been that bad, but what was her last name? He ran a hand through his hair in frustration. He couldn't connect half of the faces he'd seen with names. There were way too many to remember.

The image of Hiroki in drag suddenly flashed across his mind and he laughed. Maybe he could put Hiroki's name down. Then there would at least be one person there he'd get along with. Then again, the thought of seeing him in a dress again was enough to make him cringe. Amusing to contemplate, but he'd never do it. Shrugging off that thought, he scribbled down five names.

With his tentative list finally drawn up, he frowned as he headed out to drop it off. He clutched at the list, turning around quickly as he tried to convince himself he just needed a few more minutes to think about this. He turned around again, then one more time, hurrying back to his room.

Once there, he grabbed a pack, throwing in spare clothes and a few other essentials, his heart beating faster. _What am I doing?_ he asked himself. He knew this was a bad idea, running away from everything, but at the moment, giving the steward those names and meeting those girls and picking one to marry seemed like an even worse idea. He just couldn't do it, not yet.

Ryo closed up his pack and put on his sword and a warm coat, then looked around the room. After a moment's hesitation, he grabbed a piece of paper and a pen. He couldn't just leave without saying anything, partly because he felt guilty and partly because wars had been fought over much less than missing princes.

_Dear Father and Mother,_ he wrote. _I apologize for my selfishness, but I am not ready to stay here and marry as you wish me to. I must go out and experience the world, and perhaps then I will find myself ready to settle down and become king. Please try to understand and do not worry about me._

He looked at the letter, wondering how his parents would react. His father would be furious, most likely, but maybe his mother would understand. He wanted to explain better than that, but he couldn't find the right words, so he just signed his name and left the letter on his bed. He took one last look around, then closed the door and left.

He snuck into the kitchen to take some food, then hurried to the stables for his horse. He half expected someone to find him and stop him, but the castle was quiet, everyone asleep and not on the lookout for their prince sneaking out. Why would they be? He saddled his horse and, before he could lose his nerve, quickly rode out of the castle by the rear gate, where the guards didn't even look up from their game of cards.

It was quiet outside, the sky clear and a nearly full moon lighting his way. Ryo let out the breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding, relaxing now that he was safely out of the castle and away from all the responsibilities he had there. He'd never been on a quest, if that's what this could be called, and it seemed it suited him.

He had nearly reached the nearby forest when he heard the sound of hoofbeats behind him. It was only one horse, but all it would take was one person catching him for him to have to return home. Ryo spurred his horse on, riding full tilt until he reached the forest. Then he had to slow down for fear of stumbling in the dark, and that was enough for his pursuer to catch up. With a heavy sigh, Ryo reined his horse in and looked over his shoulder to see who had found him.

"Geez, Ryo-chan," said a very familiar voice, "did you have to ride so fast? I thought I was going to trip over something and fall off and die."

Ryo relaxed a little. It was only Hiroki; even if he was here to bring Ryo back, he could easily get away. Besides, if his parents had sent anyone after him it wouldn't be Hiroki. "How did you know I was leaving?" he asked.

"How long have we been friends?" Hiroki asked dryly. "You aren't as sneaky as you think you are."

"Too long." Ryo rolled his eyes, letting his hold on the reins go slack. Hiroki pulled even with him pretty quickly.

"So where to?" he asked

Ryo paused for a moment. He hadn't really planned that far ahead. "Um..." he started, avoiding Hiroki's gaze.

Hiroki raised an eyebrow. "You don't know, do you?" 

"I do!" Ryo protested. "Or I will, after I go to Matchy's." He wasn't experienced at all in this questing business, but he has heard rumors about the seer Matchy. If he was going to go on a quest, then he should start there and figure out where to go. It wouldn't do to just wander around aimlessly.

"Are you serious?" Hiroki complained. "Who runs away without a solid plan?!"

"Shut up," Ryo grumbled. He could send Hiroki home after seeing Matchy too. Quests were meant to be done alone, not with a whiny friend mocking him the whole way.

Hiroki sighed. "Fine. Which way to this Matchy person's place?"

"He lives in the middle of the forest," Ryo answered. He knew that much, but he wasn't sure exactly where. No use in telling Hiroki that; he would only complain more. He’d just continue along the path and hope they'd get there eventually.

The only sound in the forest was the light crunch and snap of twigs underneath their horses' hooves. Ryo urged his horse to go a little faster. He was safely in the forest, but it wouldn't be long before his and Hiroki's absence was discovered. He needed to be as far away as possible by the time people started searching for him.

They rode for hours through the forest, until even Hiroki got tired of whining and they continued in silence. Ryo started to get worried after a while. The forest was huge; what if they never made it to Matchy's? He could make his own way if he had to, but he didn't know where to start. Besides, Hiroki would never let him hear the end of it if he just struck out blindly with no goal to his quest.

He was just starting to lose hope when Hiroki suddenly asked, "What's that?" Ryo turned in his saddle to see him pointing off to the right at a little hut that almost blended in with the trees, especially in the dark. It didn't look like the home of a renowned seer, but there was smoke rising from the chimney, so clearly someone lived there. Maybe they'd know where Matchy lived.

Ryo dismounted and handed the reins over to Hiroki. "Wait here," he said. "I'll check it out."

"What if a murderer lives there?" Hiroki asked, only half joking.

Ryo patted the hilt of his sword. "I can take care of myself." He thought Hiroki looked a little skeptical, but it was hard to tell in the dark. He shouldn't be, considering how often he'd been bested by Ryo in their sparring.

Although the moonlight was bright tonight, only a little filtered in between the trees, making it eerily dark off the path. Ryo couldn't help feeling a little nervous. What if there really was a murderer living there? For all his skill with the sword, he'd never used it on someone for real. How pathetic would it be if he set out on a quest only to be killed the same night he left the castle?

Still, his pride wouldn't allow him to turn around, so he made his way to the hut and knocked uncertainly on the door. There was a long pause, and then a male voice said, "Come in."

Ryo hesitated, his hand on the knob sweaty, but he didn’t want to look cowardly. He took a deep breath and pushed the door open, and was surprised to find a normal-looking man sitting in a plush chair, sipping on a cup of tea. He moved his hand away from his sword, relaxing a little but still on guard.

Ryo cleared his throat, ignoring the way the man's eye raked up and down his body. "Are you Matchy the seer?" The man didn't answer, just smiled. It unnerved Ryo a little.

"Come here," he said, beckoning with a graceful wave of his hand as he gestured to the empty chair across from him. "Sit down and I shall help you find what you seek, prince."

Ryo warily took a seat, keeping his hand close enough to his sword that he could draw it quickly if the need arose. He opened his mouth but was cut off. "Yes, I am Matchy." The man smirked.

"I need to—"

"Go on a journey to avoid marriage to someone you do not love," Matchy interrupted, looking bored.

"Not just—" Ryo tried to protest.

"Yes, I know. You want to find yourself, have a soul-searching sojourn." Matchy stood up all of a sudden and began rummaging through a shelf of old books, pulling them out and muttering to himself before he shoved them back. Ryo watched as he found the book he wanted and disappeared into a back room, then looked around. The hut was relatively clean but had weird pictures and trinkets cluttering the shelves. He listened and almost jumped when Matchy reappeared with a box of bones. (He hoped they weren't human.)

"Touch this," Matchy commanded, holding out a small stone that seemed to glow and twinkle in the dim light. It was like nothing Ryo had ever seen before.

Warily, he reached out a hand. The stone didn't look dangerous, but who knew what magical stones could do? Still, if he wanted Matchy's help, he had to do what was asked of him, so he touched the stone lightly. He expected it to do something, maybe give him a vision of what he should do, but he felt nothing except the stone under his fingers. It felt a tiny bit warm but otherwise unremarkable. "Is it supposed to do something?" he asked, looking up at Matchy.

The seer was staring at the stone in his hand and he gave no indication that he'd even heard Ryo's question. Ryo looked back down at the stone. Was there something there he couldn't see? Maybe Matchy was more powerful than his ordinary appearance and dinky little hut would suggest.

Matchy stayed silent for a long time, but just when Ryo was starting to wonder if he'd fallen asleep standing up, he lifted his head and looked Ryo right in the eye. "I have words for you," he said.

"Words?" Ryo echoed, confused, but Matchy ignored his question again.

His eyes bore into Ryo's as he continued, "Remember these words well, for they will lead you to what you seek."

_But I don't know what I'm seeking,_ Ryo thought, but this time he kept his mouth shut. Matchy wasn't listening anyway.

Matchy's next words came in a strange voice, more like what Ryo would expect of a seer, but the words were not what he expected:

"~jark in my soul~

The die is cast, so we have to go

I realize I feel dreams

We can make it true

Just know what's non-fiction

Kiss is the master key~"

There was a long silence while Ryo waited for more, but then Matchy seemed to snap out of his trance, shrugging and giving a little smile. "Or something like that."

"That's it?" Ryo asked, bemused.

"My prophecies are always true," Matchy said cheerfully. "You just have to figure out what they mean."

"But I don't even know where to go!" Ryo protested. What good would gibberish words like that do him?

"Oh, that," Matchy said. "I'd suggest you just continue along the path."

_Great,_ Ryo thought. _Like I needed a seer to tell me that._ He couldn't help making a face, but he remembered his manners and said, "Thank you."

"Not at all," Matchy said. Then he smiled wider and asked, "Would you like a cup of tea?"

Ryo would have declined, but Matchy was already by the stove, boiling water and preparing three cups. While he waited, Ryo replayed the prophecy in his head, but he still couldn't glean any meaning from it.

Matchy set the tray of steaming tea on the table, passing Ryo a cup and placing the other in front of the empty chair. Ryo raised an eyebrow and thought about asking what it was for, but he probably wouldn't get an answer anyway.

Suddenly, the door burst open and Ryo jumped out of his seat, swinging around to catch sight of Hiroki with his sword drawn. "Ryo!" he cried when he spotted him, lowering his sword and staring at the both of them. "You're okay."

"Sit down, Uchi Hiroki, but put away your sword first," Matchy said with a sigh, waving him towards the third chair. "Have some tea with us."

"Pardon my rude entrance," Hiroki said, embarrassed. Ryo took another sip from his cup, finding the tea still too hot to drink comfortably. Matchy seemed impervious to it.

"You were drinking tea while I was out there wondering if you were being slaughtered?!" Hiroki complained, now that it was clear Ryo wasn't in danger. Matchy's eyes flickered back and forth between the two of them.

Ryo laughed. He didn't mean to, exactly, but the look on Hiroki's face was pretty comical. Hiroki bowed his head in apology to Matchy before taking a seat and glaring at Ryo. "Fine, see if I ever attempt to save you again," he muttered, pouting. He took a careful sip of the tea and grimaced.

Ryo, though still amused at his expense, managed to stop laughing. "If I were bested, do you really think you'd stand a chance?" Hiroki glared in response.

Matchy considered them both and smiled. "The two of you should continue on this journey," he said, looking at Ryo.

That distracted Ryo from his amusement. "But I thought I should go alone. Isn't that how quests work?"

Matchy shook his head. "There's no rule against questing with company. In fact, many a hero has gone on a quest with a stalwart sidekick."

"A sidekick?" Hiroki repeated, clearly not pleased with the term.

"Or whatever you want to call him," Matchy amended with another inexplicable smirk. A talented seer he might be, but this guy was kind of weird. Or maybe that was part of the seer routine, being amused by things no one else knew about.

Ryo thought about protesting more, but he had to admit he didn't mind the thought of Hiroki coming along that much. He might be useless with a sword, but he was good with people, and traveling would be more fun with company. If he was going off to face the unknown, Ryo wouldn't mind having someone familiar by his side. He turned to Hiroki and shrugged. "You want to come?"

Hiroki shrugged too. "Sure. But let's make this clear: I'm not your sidekick."

"Okay," Ryo said. "You can be my noble companion or whatever you want, as long as you don't expect me to call you that." He caught a glimpse of Matchy out of the corner of his eye and he was smirking even wider. What was with him?

"Excellent!" Matchy declared. "Now, if you don't mind, it's past my bedtime..."

They took their leave, their cups of still-scalding tea abandoned on the table. Once they were back on their horses, Hiroki asked, "What did he say before I came in?"

"He gave me a prophecy," Ryo said. "I think. It didn't make any sense."

"I don't think prophecies are supposed to make sense. What was it?"

Ryo thought back, trying to remember the exact words. "Something about jark and master key and...I think there were dreams in there. And when I told him that didn't help me know where to go, he said to just continue along the path."

Hiroki scoffed at that. "Great. So we just keep riding until we find something worth stopping for?"

"I guess so," Ryo said reluctantly, wishing he had something better to offer.

"Some great seer," Hiroki grumbled. Then, after a pause, he added, "And what was with all that smirking? I think he was hitting on you, Ryo-chan."

"Eww!" If that was the explanation for those random smirks, Ryo really didn't want to know. "Don't say things like that." As Hiroki laughed at him, Ryo wondered just how much he was going to regret letting him come along.

 

Ryo shifted in the saddle, getting uncomfortable after traveling for so long. The seer's cabin was far behind them, and his family even more so. The forest, which had been green and lush, full of robust trees and tall green bushes, had slowly transitioned into plant species that Ryo had never seen before. The smells, the sounds: everything was different. Ryo could tell he was far, far away from Osaka.

"Just keep following the path," Hiroki mimicked in a high-pitched tone completely unlike the seer's voice. "What kind of bullshit is that?" Hiroki's horse shook her head, trying to dislodge flies but looking like she was agreeing with him.

"Yeah," Ryo agreed absentmindedly. He was distracted by the path ahead. It looked darker, the bushes more rugged, not the usual sticker bushes. The chirping of the birds had all but stopped. Still, they kept traveling; it wasn't like he could just turn around and go home after all this.

Before, the tree canopy had allowed the sun's rays to guide their way, but as they pushed onward, the canopy overhead became dense, branches intertwining and thick, dark leaves overlapping so that little light could shine through. The forest floor became darker and cooler, with mosses growing on it instead of bushes. Ryo gave a little shiver even though he wasn't cold, feeling uncomfortable without being able to pinpoint why.

"I don't like this place, Ryo-chan," Hiroki said plaintively, clearly feeling the same way. "Maybe we were supposed to turn off the path somewhere."

"That's not what Matchy said," Ryo reminded him, but he was worried too. Who knew where this path led and who (or what) lived along it? "There was something in the prophecy about dark...or maybe it was jark, but anyway, that could mean we're in the right place."

"Maybe," Hiroki said, but he sounded skeptical. Ryo couldn't blame him. That prophecy had been very strange, and he wasn't about to stop worrying just because they might possibly be going where it said they should. (And what was "jark" supposed to mean anyway?)

As they rode on, it got darker and darker until Ryo could barely make out the path in front of him, slowing down so that his horse wouldn't trip. He was just thinking about suggesting they stop when he heard a wordless, ululating cry in two different voices and the sound of footsteps very nearby. His sword was in his hand immediately, but he couldn't see anyone in the near darkness and he didn't want to risk hitting his horse or Hiroki by swinging wildly.

"Ryo!" Hiroki cried out, and Ryo turned to see him get dragged off his horse by three indistinct black shapes. Before Ryo could do anything, hands closed around his sword arm and tugged, trying to unseat him too. He tried to fight, but there were at least three of them, whatever they were, and they were strong. Suddenly he was falling off his horse, and then everything went dark.

 

He woke up with a headache and three concerned faces hovering over him. One was Hiroki's, which wasn't surprising, but the others were almost jet black and small and not like any human Ryo had ever seen. He thought he'd seen a picture of something like them before, maybe in a book, but with his head spinning he couldn't remember. "Who—?" he started, then, "Where—? What happened?"

"Hold still," Hiroki said, pushing down on Ryo's shoulders when he tried to sit up. Ryo mentally assessed himself for injuries; besides his head feeling like it had been slammed against a wall, there was only a little soreness in his back, nothing worrisome. 

"You took a bad fall," one of the creatures said, its voice raspy. Hiroki looked calm enough, so Ryo doubted that these people (if they could be called that) would eat them or maim them or anything else horribly painful. 

"More like was pulled down," he grumbled, grimacing as his headache hit him full force. He could remember up until he had felt something grab him, probably one of them.

The second one coughed slightly. "Sorry about that. Jin here gets a bit enthusiastic." 

Ryo snorted and immediately regretted it as his head's throbbing increased. "Where are we?" he asked Hiroki. He needed to focus on one thing at a time; he'd deal with the black creatures after. 

"Goblin land?" Hiroki said uncertainly. That would be loosely translated as "I don't know." Ryo groaned as he tried to sit up, helped by Hiroki's hand on his elbow. 

"Goblins?" Ryo looked between the two creatures, belatedly noticing a few others standing by the door to the house they were in. Now that he'd heard the name, he recognized them from a book of magical creatures he'd studied years before. Osaka wasn't home to any magical creatures, so he'd never thought he'd actually see a goblin with his own eyes. He strained to remember what it had said about them in the book, whether they were dangerous and what their weaknesses where.

"Yeah, goblins," the sheepish one said. "Except for Jin. He's just half."

The other one made a face at that, but Ryo wasn't quite sure what that expression meant on a goblin. "Half what?" Hiroki asked curiously.

All he got in response from the one who was apparently called Jin was a smirk. "You'll see," the more talkative one said.

Hiroki didn't push, instead turning back to Ryo and telling him, "Ryo-chan, this is Kame, and you already got Jin's name. Those four over there are Tanaka, Taguchi, Ueda and Nakamaru." Ryo couldn't tell which name went with which goblin, but he was pretty sure Hiroki didn't know either. It was hard to tell them apart anyway, unused as he was to non-human features.

"Nice to meet you," Ryo said politely. He bobbed his head in greeting, making it spin a little bit. "I'm—"

"Yeah, some prince. We already know," one of the four by the door said. "Kame, can we take their gold already?"

"What?" Ryo asked, automatically reaching for his sword. He didn't like the sound of this at all, especially since he had no idea how dangerous goblins were.

"Relax," Kame said. "Hiroki here convinced us it would be trouble if we just stole gold from a prince like you, so we're going to take it fair and square. Do you play dice?"

"Sometimes," Ryo said warily. His father didn't approve of gambling, but that hadn't stopped him from playing a few times. It just wasn't much fun since no one ever wanted to take the prince's money.

"Great!" Kame and all the other goblins were looking at him with unnervingly excited expressions. Hiroki looked worried, but what could they do? They were in no position to refuse, outnumbered and inside the goblin's home. There was nothing to do but play.

The goblin's game of dice wasn't like any version Ryo had played before, but he started to get the hang of it soon enough. Hiroki had more trouble, and Ryo frowned as he watched their gold pieces disappear one by one. "Maybe only I should play," Ryo suggested. "It's mostly my gold anyway."

"Maybe that would be best," Uchi said as he lost another round, sheepishly passing his significantly smaller stack of gold coins to Ryo.

"One of you should step out," Ryo said, looking between Kame and Jin. "It's wouldn't be fair to play two on one."

All the goblins looked between each other, seemingly unsure. "It's okay, we can play one on one," Jin said with a smirk, his eyes fixed on Ryo, the tone of his voice deep and melodic as it rolled over the syllables.

"All right. Don't mess this up," Kame warned. His expression as he pushed his pile of gold to Jin and stepped away was slightly unnerving, but Ryo ignored it, turning his attention back to the game.

"I never thought I'd get to play dice with a powerful prince," Jin mused, leaning in closer as he let his dice slide out of his palm and onto the wooden table. They landed with a light bounce and spun to a stop. Jin smiled at him and Ryo paused, a warm feeling spreading out from the tips of his fingers and snaking up his arms and towards his chest. 

"Ryo," Uchi said sharply. 

Ryo jumped and his dice fell from his fingers. He broke eye contact with Jin to look down at the dice as they wobbled and stopped on one and two.

Jin grinned and grabbed the small stack of gold coins in the middle of the table, pulling them towards him. Ryo cursed under his breath.

"I'll wager three this time," Jin said. His fingers slid over the coins before he placed them in the center of the table, and Ryo found himself staring without knowing why.

"Hurry up, Jin," Tanaka groaned. The floor creaked under his feet as he paced back and forth. Ryo could see Hiroki frowning out of the corner of his eye. 

"Your move," Jin told him. Ryo made a noncommittal noise, matching the bet, and focused on throwing his dice.

Half an hour later, all the gold coins were in front of Jin and Ryo was glaring at the dice like they had personally offended him. "Don't feel bad, prince," Jin said, brushing a hand lightly against Ryo's forearm. "Only Pi has ever beat me at dice."

"Ryo," Hiroki called. He stepped between them, pushing Jin out of the way and narrowing his eyes at his answering smirk.

Before Ryo could ask him what was going on, all the goblins burst out laughing, except for Jin, who smiled smugly. "You should know," said one of them (Nakamaru, maybe), "that Jin is half succubus. He's very good at distracting people when they try to gamble."

"I'm very good at other things too," Jin added.

Normally, Ryo might have rolled his eyes at his blatantly suggestive tone, but he didn't feel like doing that right now. Instead, he took a step toward Jin before Hiroki grabbed his arm and pulled him back. "He's using his powers on you, Ryo-chan." Ryo reluctantly tore his gaze from Jin, and then he realized Hiroki was right.

"You should also know that your friend is—" Taguchi started, but Tanaka (or maybe it was the other way around) stomped on his foot and he shut up.

"Now, if you don't mind," Kame said, ignoring the two scuffling behind him, "it's time for you to go."

"But—" Hiroki protested.

"If you have no gold, we don't want you here," Ueda said flatly, leaving no room for argument.

"Can you at least tell us where this path will take us?" Ryo asked. He didn't want to keep blundering along and run into who knows what next.

The six exchanged what Ryo hoped weren't significant glances. "If you keep going down the path, you might meet Yamapi," Jin said. "He's a nice guy. Maybe he'll help you out."

"Now get out," Kame added.

It wasn't much, but it was better than nothing. "Please excuse us," Ryo said politely, even though these goblins didn't deserve it. Then he and Hiroki beat a hasty retreat.

It was starting to get light outside, though it was hard to tell what time it was with so little light making it through the trees. "Nice guys, huh?" Hiroki muttered. "I'm glad we got out of there."

"Me too," Ryo agreed. Forgetting his wounded pride at having lost all their gold, he really didn't like the way Jin had affected him without him even realizing it. He hoped not all magical creatures were like that, because it seemed that they were likely to run into more as they continued on their quest.

They went to mount their horses, but Hiroki stopped to yawn loudly. "Isn't it time to rest already? I didn't get to be unconscious for a while like you."

"Let's get out of here first," Ryo said. He didn't know what other dangers might be lurking in these woods, but he was ready to put them far behind him.

They mounted their horses quickly, sparing no glance behind. Whether this Yamapi person would be helpful or not, Ryo didn't know, but at least this way he'd have something to follow besides "just keep following the path". Doing that had led to them losing all of their gold. 

They rode on. Ryo wasn't sure how long they'd been traveling, but there were encouraging signs. The tree canopy seemed to be thinning out, and he could almost make out some sky. It was still relatively dark outside even though they'd been going for a while, and it was quiet save for the snap of twigs underneath the horses' hooves. 

"Is it just me or is that a clearing?" Hiroki asked, pulling even with Ryo and pointing up ahead. 

Sure enough, he could barely make out open space off in the distance. "If it is, we should camp there," he said, wiping the sweat from his brow. 

They came out into the clearing, the undergrowth of the forest immediately replaced by lush grass and the canopy of the trees disappearing to reveal stars spread across the sky. It was a good time to stop and give themselves and their horses a rest. Ryo dismounted, Hiroki following suit, and they quickly removed their packs from their horses and took out blankets. 

"So tired," Hiroki whined, removing the saddle and running a brush over his horse while it grazed. 

Ryo mumbled something in the affirmative, as his own horse leaned into the stroke of the bristles. He stretched out his arms, wincing as his shoulder popped. He was still sore from his fall earlier. It wasn't too cold out, but there was a slight breeze that rustled the grass and chilled him a bit. 

Suddenly, Hiroki groaned. "What?" Ryo asked, turning toward him as he spread out his blankets and sleeping pad.

Hiroki was scratching the back of his head sheepishly. "I forgot to pack a blanket." Ryo laughed at him, and Hiroki's frown deepened. "Mom or the servants usually pack for me," Hiroki explained, tossing out his pad and grumbling under his breath. 

"Idiot." Ryo scoffed, before moving his pad next to Hiroki's. Hiroki looked up at him, leaning back and watching as Ryo spread out his stuff. Ryo put his sword right next to his bed, then flung part of the blanket at Hiroki, amused when it smacked him in the face. "I'll share," he said.

He half expected Hiroki to argue, but he just yawned hugely as he lay down. "Thanks, Ryo-chan," he mumbled, pulling the blanket over him. Before Ryo could think of something mocking to say, Hiroki was asleep. Ryo felt a little weird crawling under the blanket right next to him, but he found he was too tired to care. He listened to Hiroki's steady breathing for a minute or two, and before he knew it, he was asleep.

 

Ryo woke some time later to a very strange sensation. It was like something had pulled him out of sleep, but he was still dreaming. The world felt fuzzy around the edges, and his mind too. He found himself standing up even though he couldn't say exactly why. Hiroki was getting to his feet beside him, but neither of them spoke.

After a little while, Ryo realized that he was hearing something, an eerie sort of singing. It made him think of Jin a little, though it was hard to pinpoint why. It caught his attention, whether he liked it or not, the same way Jin had, but more forcefully. He couldn't think about anything except the sound, and moving toward it.

He and Hiroki walked toward the singing, not running but moving steadily, without paying any attention to their surroundings. Ryo listened to the voice as they walked, and it sounded sweet, more beautiful than any music he'd ever heard before. He wanted nothing more than to reach the source of the voice, which must be more beautiful than anyone he'd ever seen before to sing like that.

Ryo could see something glittering in the distance, and as they came closer, he realized it was water. Was that the ocean? He'd seen it on maps but had never visited it before. He wished he had, if it was an ocean creature that was singing so beautifully. Maybe when they got closer to the shore, he'd find out where the song was coming from.

Then, suddenly, he heard other voices. "I told Tegoshi to be more careful when he sings," one of them said. "It's dangerous if other people are around."

"Maybe we should just let them keep going," another said. "They could be dangerous too, you know."

"They don't feel like bad people," argued the first. "And you know Yamapi doesn't like it when people drown on his favorite beach."

That caught Ryo's attention despite the song, partly for the mention of drowning, but more for the name. Where had he heard that before? "Yamapi?" he echoed. It was hard to speak, like he was struggling to wake up from a dream and couldn't quite manage it. But even in his fogged state, he remembered. "Jin's friend..."

There was an indecipherable murmur of voices and then someone yelled, "Tegoshi, shut up for a sec!"

Abruptly, the singing stopped. Ryo stumbled to a halt, and Hiroki did the same beside him. His mind was a fuzzy mess; more than anything else, it felt like a bad hangover, minus the headache. "What...?" Hiroki mumbled, seeming equally confused.

Ryo squinted and tried to focus on the three people making their way towards them, their boots kicking up sand. The tallest of the three stepped forward, looking at them warily, but one of the others grabbed his arm and held him back. 

"You know Jin?" he asked. Now that the singing had stopped, Ryo's mind slowly started to clear. he didn't know who these people were, but if they knew Yamapi, then maybe they were in the right place.

"Yeah," Ryo said. Hiroki moved to stand next to him as the hypnotic magic of Tegoshi (whoever that was) finally wore off. 

"You're friends with Jin?" the shorter one asked. There was a wary edge to his voice that didn't go unnoticed by Ryo. 

"Well, I don't know if friends—" Ryo started.

Hiroki took over at that. "We just came from Jin's and were told that Yamapi might be able to help us. We met Jin on our journey. I'm Hiroki and this is Ryo."

Ryo nodded at them. He didn't mind the interruption; Hiroki always was better at talking. The three men seemed to have relaxed just a little thanks to him.

"Kato Shigeaki, and this is Koyama Keiichiro." the man holding the other back reluctantly introduced them. 

"Call me Massu," the third man said cheerfully.

"Come on, then," Koyama said, pulling his arm out of Kato's grip. "We'll take you to Yamapi."

Kato still didn't look happy with the situation, but he didn't argue. "What do you think Yamapi can help you with?" he asked.

Ryo and Hiroki exchanged a look, and Hiroki made a face as if to say, "Good question." Ryo shrugged. "I'm not sure," he admitted. "We're on a quest. I guess maybe Jin thought he might know something we could...quest for."

Hiroki snickered at that, earning an ineffectual glare from Ryo. Koyama laughed too, but more kindly, and even Kato smiled a little. "Could be," he conceded. "Yamapi knows a lot of people, and maybe something about quests."

They started walking, Ryo and Hiroki a little behind the others. Hiroki came up close to Ryo and asked, "Are you sure this is a good idea? It sounded like they were ready to let us get hurt earlier."

"But they didn't," Ryo pointed out. He was wary too, but he didn't have any better idea of what to do. Besides, what was a quest without a little danger? "If they wanted us dead, they could've killed us earlier. We'll be okay." Even so, he kept his hand close to his sword.

After a minute, someone came running up to them. Ryo reached for his sword automatically before he realized that it was just a boy. "Is this why you stopped me earlier?" he asked, pouting cutely.

"You could have killed them," Koyama chided, but without much conviction. "You have to be more careful, Tegoshi."

"Sorry," Tegoshi said, but he didn't sound very sorry. He turned and grinned at Ryo and Hiroki. "Hi! I'm Tegoshi. Sorry about earlier."

"That was you singing?" Hiroki asked, a note of irritation in his voice. "What did you do to us?"

"That's what happens when I sing," Tegoshi explained. "Humans are drawn to me and they wind up drowning in the ocean or falling on the rocks."

"You're..." Ryo remembered reading about a creature like that before, but he couldn't remember the name.

"A siren," Kato finished.

Now that sounded familiar. Ryo tried to remember what he'd read about sirens. "Aren't they supposed to be attractive women?" he asked.

Tegoshi shrugged like he'd heard the question many times before. "Attractive women, attractive men; close enough." Now that Ryo looked closer, he realized Tegoshi was right—about the man part, that is. The way he'd come bouncing up had made Ryo think he was a boy, but he probably wasn't much younger than Hiroki.

"So you kill people?" Hiroki asked, sounding more irritated now.

"I try not to!" Tegoshi protested, smiling innocently. "But there are so few humans around here that I forget to be careful sometimes."

Hiroki made a noncommittal noise, saying nothing further as they

continued trudging along behind the others, but Ryo paused, thinking, "Wait, so none of you are human?"

Kato and Koyama looked normal enough; nothing stood out that would

make Ryo think they were anything other than human. He saw something

shine out of the corner of his eye and turned his head.

Massu smiled, and it was unnaturally bright. "None of us are," he said.

Ryo wondered why he hadn't noticed before. Massu seemed to be emitting some sort of unearthly bright aura. It had to be coming from him; today was completely overcast. From his back protruded wisps of material shaped almost like wings, soft colors streaming through them and changing continuously.

Hiroki was staring, fascinated, and Ryo couldn't help but do the same. Neither of them had ever seen anything like it. Ryo wondered what Massu was.

"If none of you are human, then what are you two?" Hiroki asked, finally managing to stop staring at Massu.

Kato made a noncommittal noise, seemingly reluctant to say anything, but Koyama had no such qualms. "We're both witches," he said casually.

"Koyama!" Kato whined.

Ryo had heard stories of witches since he was little, and none of them good. He tensed, the hand closest to his sword twitching.

Koyama laughed. "Relax. We won't do anything to you."

"All the witches I've heard of are old women," Hiroki pointed out, seeming more curious than scared. "Are you using some sort of magic disguise?"

Tegoshi grinned. "Well, Shige acts like an old man." He and Koyama laughed like this was an old joke.

"There are all kinds of witches all with different powers," Kato grumbled. "A young man being a witch isn't unheard of."

"See?" Tegoshi said, not bothering to lower his voice. "Grumpy old man."

Kato kept grumbling, but it seemed like this was a conversation they'd had many times before. It was strange, when Ryo thought about it, for two witches and a siren and...whatever Massu was to all be friends like this. Then again, he didn't have any experience with magical creatures like this. Maybe it was normal and humans just didn't know about it. All the books he'd ever read had been written by humans, as far as he knew.

After a few more minutes of walking, they reached what seemed to be these people's house. It was a strange-looking building, a mishmash of different styles that looked like they'd been added on one room at a time. Still, it was better than the goblins' dark, dank home. "Come on in," Koyama said cheerfully, opening the door and walking inside.

The inside of the house was strange but nice too. The day was warm, but a cool breeze was coming in from the ocean, which they could see right outside the windows. The decor was a weird mix of photographs and bizarre abstract paintings, but the place was clean and well-lit and Ryo couldn't really complain. After a moment, he noticed an ordinary-looking man (although he was learning that appearances didn't necessarily mean anything) sprawled out on the couch, asleep.

"I'll make some tea!" Koyama declared, going into the kitchen.

While he was busy, Tegoshi gestured toward the man on the couch. "That's Yamapi," he said. "You can wake him up, but he'll probably be more willing to help you if you wait until after his nap."

Ryo and Hiroki exchanged a significant glance. The last thing they needed was to make someone mad when they had no idea what kind of special powers he might have. "We can wait," Ryo said. They sat down on the chairs spread around the room. Hiroki slumped down in his, looking tired, but Ryo couldn't relax yet, not sure if they were safe or not. "What is he?" he asked, nodding at Yamapi.

The other three looked at each other, but Kato just shrugged. "He's human."

That woke Hiroki up a little. "But I thought Tegoshi killed humans..."

Tegoshi gave an incongruously sweet smile at that. "He's a special sort of human," Kato explained. "He was raised by fairies and I guess they rubbed off on him."

"Fairies?" Ryo echoed. He'd heard of them, of course, but his tutor had insisted they didn't really exist.

Nobody offered any further explanation, so Ryo shrugged it off and started looking around the house and finding more paintings and pictures of the ocean and people and some things he couldn't even identify. It wasn't at all coordinated, but somehow it felt more comfortable than the castle he called home.

Hiroki yawned and slumped further in his seat, his eyes drifting shut occasionally before he forced himself them open again. The sound of Koyama bustling in the kitchen was audible; Ryo wondered what about making tea took that much effort.

"Yo! I'm back." The sound of the door creaking open had Ryo jerking around in his chair, but the young man who came in didn't look particularly threatening. The door slammed shut behind him.

"Kusano, welcome back," Koyama said happily, walking into the living

room with a tray full of steaming tea in mismatched mugs.

"Guests?" Kusano asked. He stepped into full view, and that's when Ryo's jaw dropped. He had expected a man, but that was only from Kusano's torso and up. Where his human legs should have been, there were animals legs, complete with hooves and coarse-looking hair. Ryo had read a book on mythological beasts before, and if he remembered correctly, then this Kusano person—thing—was a satyr. They were supposed to be mythical, but that was clearly not the

case. Hiroki was now wide awake too, staring openly at Kusano.

"They're here to see Yamapi," Kato answered for them. "Once he decides to wake up."

As if he'd heard his name, Yamapi opened his eyes, yawned and stretched. "Hey, everyone's home," he mumbled sleepily. It took him a moment to notice Ryo and Hiroki, but he had no visible reaction when he did. He took a cup of tea off Koyama's tray before he asked, still sounding half asleep, "Guests?"

Kusano snickered at that, but it was Koyama who answered. "This is Ryo and Hiroki. Jin-kun sent them to talk to you."

"To me?" Yamapi didn't show any sign of surprise; in fact, he yawned widely. When he was done, he turned to look at Ryo and Hiroki. "What did Jin think I could do for you?"

Ryo didn't know what to say to that, so he was glad when Hiroki jumped in. "To tell you the truth, I don't really know. We're on a quest, you see, but the guy we went to for advice just gave us this weird prophecy thing that didn't make any sense and then told us to continue down the path. That's where we met Jin, and he told us that you might have some advice for us."

"Hmm." Yamapi was looking a little more awake now, but his expression was still very hard to read. "What kind of quest do you want? Something cool like slaying a dragon? I heard about this dragon further down the path. He's got a name, Josh or Johnny or something like that..."

That definitely got Ryo's attention. Slaying a dragon would be difficult, but it was a quest worthy of a prince. If he could face a dragon and come out alive, he could face anything, even marriage. "Do you know where we could find him?" he asked.

Hiroki immediately went pale at that. "Please tell me you're kidding, Ryo-chan. How are we going to kill a dragon?"

Ryo noticed Kato giving him and Hiroki strange looks, but he just gave a little shake of his head and said, "That dragon's a myth. You can tell people you killed it and they might believe you, but you're not going to be able to find it."

"Oh," Ryo said, disappointed, but maybe a tiny bit relieved too. He didn't know the first thing about killing dragons, and he did want him and Hiroki to survive this quest.

“Okay, let's scratch this dragon slaying idea,” Hiroki said, not even trying to hide his relief.

“Do you know of anything else?” Ryo asked hopefully. They had traveled so far; if Yamapi couldn't help them, they'd be back to square one. He couldn't go home without accomplishing something. 

Yamapi didn't seem to be in any sort of rush. Ryo wasn't sure if he was even paying attention. Suddenly, he stood up and opened a window, frowning at the sky. “A storm is coming,” he said after a moment.

Koyama paled, his hand unconsciously clutching his chest. “Is it that bad?” he asked.

Yamapi nodded. Ryo looked between the two of them; they weren't saying much aloud, but it seemed almost like they had some other means of communication. He wondered what it was that had Koyama looking so worried (or if that was just how he was).

Ryo's question went unanswered. Before he could ask again, Uchi grabbed the sleeve of his shirt. "Ryo, the horses!" he said. Ryo realized they'd forgotten everything at the clearing where they'd slept. At least he'd kept his sword on him, but everything else was still out there waiting to be stolen.

"Horses?" Kusano asked.

"When we were lured to the beach, we left them there," Uchi explained before turning back to Ryo. "What'll we do if they're gone?" he asked pathetically.

The thought made Ryo nervous. They'd have a hard time continuing their quest on foot, and even if they gave up (which he wasn't ready to do), it would be a long walk back to Osaka. "Let's go see," he said.

No sooner had he spoken than there was a clap of thunder and the sound of a sudden downpour. Yamapi turned around, mouth twisted into what Ryo thought might be a smile. "Told you so," he said.

Hiroki drooped in his chair. "What are we going to do now?"

His whining was annoying, but Ryo felt a little bit like doing the same thing. He was tired and frustrated and wary of being stuck in this house with strange not-exactly-people who had almost killed him and Hiroki, however unintentionally. This questing thing was turning out to be a lot harder than he had expected.

"You can't go out in this weather," Koyama said, "but you can stay with us until the storm passes. We have plenty of room. And you two look like you need some rest."

Ryo looked at Hiroki and tried to communicate, "Do you think it's safe?" with his eyes. He wasn't sure if he got his point across or not, but Hiroki just shrugged tiredly and said, "Thank you. We appreciate your hospitality."

They were given a bedroom that might or might not have belonged to someone else. There was only one bed, but it was big and Ryo really didn't care right now. Now that he was in the warm house with clouds blotting out the sun, he realized how tired he was; they hadn't slept nearly enough before Tegoshi had woken them up. "Do you think it's—" He had to break off to yawn. "—okay to stay here?"

Hiroki yawned immediately after him. "We're not getting out of here in this weather, and we do need to rest. Besides, if they wanted to kill us, they could've done it by now. Who knows what dangerous spells witches can do?" He yawned again, even wider. "Come on, let's go to sleep." He unbuckled his sword belt and took off his jacket and, without even asking, climbed into the bed. (Ryo wondered, as he very often did, if Hiroki even remembered that he was a prince and should be deferred to.)

Ryo stood there for one yawn more before he squashed his doubts and joined Hiroki on the bed. If they were going to die, at least this way they could do it well-rested. In the time it took Hiroki to pull the blanket over both of them, he was asleep.

 

Ryo shifted. His back was warm and slightly sweaty, as if something were pressed tightly against it, and he wasn't awake enough to process what it was.

"Hey," a voice said. Ryo grunted in response, irritated. He was tired and not at all ready to get up. Something poked his shoulder, and he tried to move away but met something warm and solid.

"It's the afternoon," said the same annoying voice. "Wake up."

Ryo opened his eyes, a blurry figure slowly coming into focus. Once that filtered through his sleep-fogged brain, he jerked awake and tried to sit up, but an arm over his waist and a leg spread out on top of him were pinning him down.

Tegoshi, standing by the bed, laughed and poked Hiroki's arm with the stick. Hiroki groaned and moved his arm away, and Ryo quickly shoved his leg off. "Ten more minutes," Hiroki mumbled, now snuggling with the pillow instead of Ryo.

Koyama was standing in the doorway looking between the two of them with an odd expression on his face. Embarrassed, Ryo shoved Hiroki hard, avoiding looking at the two of them. His waist was still warm where Hiroki's arm had been.

"Get up," he hissed. Stupid Hiroki. He should have his stupid fat leg cut off for doing that to Ryo. He didn't even want to know what they had looked like.

"Sorry," Koyama said, barely suppressing a smile. Tegoshi was still

poking at Hiroki, laughing when he whined but finally, very reluctantly, sat up.

Ryo glared at him, but it went totally unnoticed. "Is the storm over?" Hiroki asked through a yawn, like he hadn't just slept for who knows how many hours while clinging to Ryo.

"It has been for a while," Koyama said. "You guys must have been really tired." He was still smiling like he was looking at a cute kitten and it made Ryo want to punch him, or else pull the covers over his head and hide.

Now that the annoyance of being woken up and the embarrassment of waking up like that were fading, Ryo had to admit that he felt a lot better. Between Matchy and the goblins and Tegoshi almost killing them, he'd been really worn out. After a good night's sleep, he felt more ready to face his quest again...even if he didn't really have a quest at the moment, or possibly even a horse to ride while he looked for one.

"We should go look for our horses," he said, standing up and stretching.

That made Koyama's smile fall. "About that...we went and looked this morning and we found your bags, but the horses were gone."

Ryo's spirits sank immediately. "Ryo-chan, if you so much as suggest continuing on foot..." Hiroki warned, but he didn't have to. Even Ryo had to admit that was a terrible idea.

"I don't suppose you have any horses we could buy from you?" he asked Koyama and Tegoshi.

"With what money?" Hiroki muttered.

Ryo flinched, remembering. He'd left home with plenty of gold in case of a situation like this, but every last piece of it was in the hands of those goblins now. He hoped the ugly bastards killed each other over it.

"We don't keep horses," Tegoshi said, "but there should be someone in the village who would sell them to you. For money, of course." He was clearly amused, and Ryo reflexively turned his death glare on him. Unfortunately, it was about as effective as it was on Hiroki, with the added annoyance of Tegoshi's answering smile automatically making him smile back. Ryo was starting to think that he really didn't like magical beings.

"There's a village around here?" Hiroki asked, surprised. He stood up too, and Ryo decided he should get dressed, putting on his jacket and reaching for his sword belt.

"You don't need that in here, do you?" Koyama asked. He looked so upset about it that Ryo felt guilty and put it back down. "There's a little magical village nearby," Koyama continued, smiling again. "We get our food from there. Hey, maybe someone there would have work you can do to earn some money! Then you could get horses and continue your quest."

He sounded very excited at the idea, but Ryo was skeptical. What kind of work could a village in the middle of nowhere need? What could they even do? He was a prince and Hiroki was the son of a noble family; they hadn't worked a day in their lives, let alone done manual labor. Part of being on a quest was experiencing new things, but there were some things he didn't think he wanted to experience. Mucking out stables and the like were pretty high on the list, close behind being robbed blind, almost drowning in the ocean, and having Hiroki use him as a life-sized teddy bear.

Hiroki looked equally apprehensive about the idea. Maybe if Ryo had had a friend who was a little more scared of him or had more experience with working then he could send him to do the work, but that wouldn't happen with Hiroki. Ryo knew that the point of a quest was that it wasn't easy and there were great trials and tests of character he'd have to go through, but he hadn't thought that a situation like this would be one of them. 

There wasn't anything else they could do, though. Staying forever with this odd collection of magical beings was not an option, no matter how kind they seemed to be. They needed money to get out of here. 

"Which way is it?" Ryo asked. They might as well start out early so they could make money quickly and be on their way. He hoped it wouldn't take long to earn enough money for two horses.

"Shige said he'll take you there, since he has to go anyway," Tegoshi said, still smiling. Ryo avoided eye contact; he felt weirdly affectionate toward Tegoshi when he looked at him for too long. Being helpless against magic was a very uncomfortable feeling, even when it was something small like this.

"Lunch is ready," Koyama said. "Come out when you're ready." He stood up and pulled Tegoshi out with him. 

When they were gone, Ryo sighed and ran his hands through his hair. "We're really working?" Hiroki asked dubiously, his hands crossed over his chest. 

Ryo rolled his eyes. "Not we: you're working."

He barely managed to suppress a grin at the way Hiroki's jaw hung open, his expression full of disbelief. "What?" he croaked. "You're not serious?" 

"If I am?" Ryo said flippantly. He knew that if he commanded it, Hiroki wouldn't really have a choice, but Ryo didn't want to play the prince card. Hiroki was the only person who treated him like a real friend, not someone to suck up to or be afraid of. Besides, it would be really embarrassing if it didn't work.

Hiroki probably should have known that Ryo didn't mean it, but he seemed convinced, starting to whine loudly. Ryo grinned wickedly. He'd just let Hiroki fret for a while. It was fun to mess with him for a change.

They ate a quick lunch and then headed out for the village with Kato. Koyama still seemed upset at the sight of their swords, but this time Ryo insisted. Who knew what dangers could be lurking in a magical village? He wasn't sure, given his experience so far, that his sword would be of use against any of them, but it was all he had.

Ryo was absorbed in those kinds of thoughts as they walked, but Hiroki struck up a conversation with Kato, asking him about the village and his abilities as a witch and how he had met Koyama and the others. Kato was reluctant to talk at first, but he warmed up pretty quickly; Hiroki was good at that.

Ryo only half-listened until Kato caught his attention by saying, "I'm actually kind of a seer too."

"A seer?" Ryo echoed. Kato didn't seem anything like Matchy, but then, Matchy hadn't been what Ryo expected a seer to be like either.

"Really?" Hiroki asked, excited. "Then maybe you can help us with our quest. The last seer we went to just gave Ryo-chan this weird prophecy that we couldn't understand."

"I'm not that kind of seer," Kato said, with a sigh like this probably came up a lot. "I see random flashes of the future, but they're never very helpful."

"Oh." Hiroki looked obviously disappointed, but he shrugged it off quickly. "Well, tell us if you do see anything. You never know what might be helpful."

"Here." Kato held out his hand, and Hiroki looked at him curiously. "Sometimes physical contact helps trigger a vision," he explained. Ryo wasn't sure he liked this idea, but Hiroki took the offered hand without hesitation. Kato froze for a few seconds, then suddenly jumped away from Hiroki, almost bumping into Ryo.

"What?" Hiroki asked. "Was it that bad?" He was trying to make a joke out of it, but he looked worried.

"No, it's, uhh, you, umm..." Kato stammered. He couldn't seem to form a sentence, and after a moment, Ryo realized he was blushing. Was he _embarrassed_? What had he seen? "It was nothing," he said once he'd calmed down. "It was, umm, some people from the village, something weird. It happens like that sometimes."

Hiroki laughed, seeming to accept his answer. "Geez, don't scare me like that." The conversation moved on to something else, but Ryo kept watching Kato and wondering what it was he'd really seen.

Finally, they arrived at the village. Calling it a village was probably being generous; it was smaller than the castle Ryo called home, and probably inhabited by a similar number of people. Would such a tiny place actually have work for them? Would they even have horses? (That question at least was answered quickly as they passed a big stable.)

They reached the center of the village, probably the market place, and from there Kato took them to a small shop. The old man behind the counter hobbled out and smiled, a few teeth missing. "Ah, it's Kato. I had a feeling you'd be visiting today." The old man slowly turned to face them, looking them up and down. "Your friends?"

For some reason, Ryo felt like the old man was staring right through him; a chill went through his body. He wondered what kind of creature this frail-looking man was. He seemed human enough, and he wouldn't be any match for Ryo if he were, but something about him had Ryo on edge. He had to be more than he appeared.

"They're looking for work," Kato explained. "They lost their horses in the storm and will be here until they can recover their losses."

"I'm Uchi Hiroki, and this is—" Hiroki said, then hesitated for a second before finishing, "Ryo. Please, if there's any work we can do, let us know."

Ryo wondered if a small magical village this far out knew about his kingdom. He'd had no idea any of this existed; could it be possible that his father didn't know either? He had to. They weren't that far from Osaka, and a village of magical beings could be important to the safety of the kingdom.

"Hmm. The old man looked thoughtful. "Well, I do need some help cleaning out the attic. I have too many books and things that have accumulated over the last couple hundred years."

Ryo did a doubletake at that. He really should have stopped being surprised by anything by now, but he couldn't help it.

"Whoa, hundreds of years? You don't look that old," Hiroki said, trying for a joke.

The old man laughed shortly and unenthusiastically. "Humans," he muttered, shaking his head. "Follow me." He started up a spiraling wood staircase. With each step, it creaked loudly.

"I'll be heading back at dusk. If you're done by then, meet me in the square," Kato said, and left them there with the strange old man.

Hiroki headed up first, Ryo following carefully behind on the rickety stairs. It didn't seem like it would take much for them to break. All of a sudden, Hiroki jumped back, flailing his arms and almost knocking Ryo over.

"What the hell?" Ryo shouted, grabbing onto Hiroki's arm to keep them both from failing over.

"Gross, gross, gross," Hiroki whined, pulling frantically at the spider web in his hair.

"Idiot," Ryo hissed, pushing him forward. "Are you trying to get us killed?"

"Are you coming?" The old man appeared in the doorway to the attic. Ryo stepped in and was taken aback at the sheer volume of crap stacked everywhere. It was like a maze of books and things he had never seen before and in many cases couldn't even identify.

"What do you want us to do?" Hiroki asked, looking around in dismay. Everything in the attic was covered with a thick layer of dust, and there was probably much worse than spiders lurking in the dark corners of the room.

"Sort through the books and I'll tell you which ones to keep," the man said. He dropped into a chair off to the side, heedless of the cloud of dust he sent flying. Ryo coughed, and Hiroki sniffled and gave Ryo a miserable look. This was going to be a long day.

By the time they quit for the day, Ryo had come to several conclusions: he hadn't been missing out on anything by never working before, the amount of junk one person could accumulate in "a couple hundred years" was staggering, there were many more magical objects out there than his tutors had ever told him about, and breathing was highly overrated. That and he was really not comfortable around this old man, whatever he was. He also didn't think he liked the man very much, not when he paid them each a single gold piece for a long day of work.

"We're going to be here forever at this rate," Hiroki groaned as they trudged to the square to meet Kato. "If we don't die from inhaling dust or being bitten by spiders or falling downstairs or being eaten alive by creepy old man-shaped creatures or—"

"Shut up," Ryo snapped. He was in no mood to listen to Hiroki complain when he wasn't any happier. He wasn't sure how much a horse would cost here, but it had to be a lot more than one gold piece. His experience today had only made him more certain that he wanted to get out of here, to finish his quest and go somewhere where old men were just old men and he wasn't afraid to open dusty old books.

Kato was waiting in the square, thankfully, looking like he'd had a much better day than them. "You look a mess," he said when he saw them. Before Ryo could think of an appropriately biting retort, Kato waved a hand in their direction, and suddenly he felt better, the dust and grime of his long day of cleaning gone.

"What did you do?" Hiroki asked, awed.

Kato smiled wryly. "I do have _some_ useful powers."

The walk back was uneventful but not quiet. Hiroki trotted ahead and made conversation with Kato, seemingly in a better mood now that he was free of dust and grime. "That's so cool," he said, looking excited. "What other sorts of things can you do?"

Ryo hung back, feeling better but still annoyed at the entirety of today. It was going to take forever to get out of here, not that Hiroki seemed to care anymore, too busy being friendly with Kato.

Kato sighed but there was a small smile tugging at the corner of his lips, as if he didn't really mind talking about these things. "I'm still in training, so only basic things like that spell just now," Kato explained. 

"Can you show me something else?" Hiroki asked.

Kato paused for a second and looked thoughtful. "Hold out your hand," Kato said after a moment. Hiroki did, and Kato grabbed it, laying it on top of his outstretched palm before muttering something unintelligible under his breath. A small breeze started blowing and kicked up dust, sending it flying into Ryo's eyes. When he blinked them open again, there was a shiny red apple in Hiroki's hand. 

"Whoa!" Hiroki said. "Did you see that, Ryo-chan?"

Kato stood frozen for a second before he quickly pulled his hand away from Hiroki's as if he'd been burned by the contact, his entire face going red. 

"If you can make that appear, couldn't you bring us horses?" Ryo muttered.

Kato was still bright red and not looking at them at all. "It doesn't work that way," he mumbled, frowning.

"Too bad," Hiroki said. "Then we wouldn't have had to spend all day in that creepy attic." He didn't seem to upset, though. He held out the fruit to Ryo. "Want some?"

"No," Ryo said. Who knew what kind of magic was in that fruit? But Hiroki just shrugged and bit into it, making an obscene noise at the taste. Ryo rolled his eyes.

Kato didn't turn around once they started walking again, staying silent on the way back except when Hiroki asked him a direct question. Ryo couldn't figure out what was going on with him. What was with the blushing? All he'd done was touch Hiroki, and...no, that couldn't be enough to embarrass him on its own. Hiroki was good at embarrassing people (particularly Ryo), but not without even trying.

Whatever the reason for Kato's strange behavior, it made for an awkward walk back, and Ryo was glad when they reached the house. "There you are!" Koyama called as they stepped inside. "We were waiting for you for dinner." Ryo noticed him darting a glance over at Shige, who wrinkled his nose a little and shook his head. It was almost like they were reading each other's minds, but Ryo didn't think they could do that. He hoped they couldn't do that.

It was weird, sitting down to dinner with this motley group. Ryo had spent his whole life surrounded by ordinary people; nobles and royalty, maybe, but still just plain old humans. And here he was at a table where the most ordinary person (aside from him and Hiroki) had been raised by fairies. If the point of a quest was broadening your horizons, he was definitely doing that.

Said not-so-ordinary person was sitting next to Ryo, chomping happily on a piece of meat. He didn't make any attempt at conversation until he was done, when he noticed Ryo looking at him. "So, did you have fun with Old Dusty?" he asked.

"Dusty?" Ryo repeated. He assumed that was the old man, but it seemed like a strange name.

"His real name is something way too long to bother with," Yamapi explained, "so we call him that. You probably can tell why."

"Oh," Ryo said. "He's a little..." He tried and failed to come up with a diplomatic way to say "creepy."

Yamapi laughed briefly. "A lot of warlocks are like that," he said casually, as though this was perfectly normal dinner table conversation. Maybe it was, for him. "But he's not a bad guy, if you don't give him a reason to be. He's been helping Koyama and Shige with their studies. It's hard to learn a lot of spells without an expert to teach you."

"Oh," Ryo said again. He probably should be getting used to this kind of thing, but it was a lot of information to process at once. Warlocks and spells and witches in training...

"This is all very new to you, isn't it?" said Koyama, sitting across from him. "It must be overwhelming."

"It's fine," Ryo said, hoping he sounded convincing. Koyama and the others might be friendly enough, but he still didn't want them to know how lost he was feeling right now.

"There's no point in trying to lie to him," Kusano called from the end of the table.

"Please tell me you can't read minds," Hiroki said, giving Koyama a nervous look.

"No, nothing like that," Koyama said quickly. Ryo was relieved until he continued, "But I am an empath." At Hiroki's confused look, he explained, "I feel other people's emotions. So I can't tell what you're thinking, but I can tell if you're stressed"—he looked at Ryo—"or embarrassed"—Shige—"or jealous"—back to Ryo, although he didn't know why—"or...having any other kinds of feelings," he concluded, catching Hiroki's eye. That Ryo didn't understand at all, but Koyama must have been right from the way Hiroki immediately turned away, looking uncomfortable.

"It's bothersome since he likes to meddle so much," Kusano quipped and Koyama just ignored him, smiling as he poured more tea for Ryo. The conversation turned toward each person's day and Ryo started to tune them out, catching something about centaurs and Kusano getting into an altercation. He wasn't sure how much more of this world he could take in and process right now. Where he was, with all these people, was overwhelming enough. 

Maybe he should go to sleep early tonight, Ryo thought, since tomorrow was going to be another long day of inhaling dust and being around "Old Dusty". He ate in silence, trying to catch Hiroki's eye, hoping that he'd take the hint and excuse them both early, but he never looked in his direction. Ryo frowned. 

When dinner was finally over and the everything cleaned up, the group started to make their way to the living room. Ryo paused in front of the hallway, and only Koyama turned around, giving him a smile. "It's okay if you want to go to sleep early. You had a long day." 

Ryo was relieved that Koyama had suggested it first, and he was about to call to Hiroki when Kato spoke. "Uchi, if you want, I can show you some more magic?" he offered, smiling awkwardly. Ryo barely caught Koyama giving Shige a look out of the corner of his eye, but he couldn't tell what it meant. There was something going on with them, Ryo thought.

"Ah..." Hiroki started, glancing back at Ryo for a split second. 

"Unless there's somewhere else you'd rather be," Koyama said with a strange emphasis.

The corner of Hiroki's lip twitched. "Actually, I'd like to see some magic," he said. He smiled, but something about it wasn't quite right. Koyama didn't seem to notice, smiling widely and nudging Kato's shoulder. 

"Let's go, then," Kato said, uncharacteristically chipper as he grabbed Hiroki's wrist and pulled him until he was sitting down in a plush chair in the living room. Ryo felt his eye twitch; he didn't like all of this, but he couldn't figure out exactly why. Hiroki had every right to hang out with his new friend, even if Kato was acting kind of weird.

"You can stay too, if you'd like," Koyama offered, but there was something about the way he grinned at Ryo, like he knew some juicy secret, that just didn't sit right. 

"Maybe tomorrow night," Ryo mumbled, giving Kato and Hiroki one last glance before he retreated to his room. 

Despite his confused emotions, Ryo was asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow, exhausted from today and not at all looking forward to the coming days of working.

 

They went back to the dusty warlock's attic for the next few days, sorting through pile after pile of heavy books and bizarre, probably magical trinkets. Ryo didn't find him any less creepy with repeated exposure, but at least he didn't try to kill them, or make pointed comments like Koyama or act strange around Hiroki and blush all the time like Kato. He didn't do much except sit and watch and tell them what to do, which Ryo could deal with. He didn't like being ordered around, but he was kind of used to that; he wasn't king yet.

When the attic was clean enough to satisfy the old man, they moved on to washing dishes in a little tavern run by a middle-aged woman with strangely fox-like features. Then came weeding the garden for a man (or something like that) who only came up to Ryo's waist, followed by mucking out some stables with the help of an otherwise ordinary-looking boy with very large, hairy feet. That was the worst of the jobs, unsurprisingly, and Hiroki almost threw a tantrum in the middle, but somehow they got through it.

After three weeks, they sat down to count their hard-earned money. "Is that it?" Hiroki asked when it was all dumped out on the table, looking dismayed.

"What did you expect?" Ryo muttered, but inside he wasn't too happy either. All that work for this sad handful of gold? Suddenly being a prince didn't seem so bad, even with the pressure to marry and the stresses of ruling a kingdom to look forward to.

"That should be enough," Yamapi said.

"It won't get you horses like you're used to," Kato added, "but they'll get you where you want to go." He sounded kind of relieved, and Ryo noticed Koyama giving him yet another of his meaningful looks. He would definitely not miss those looks once they were gone.

"It'll be sad to see you go," Tegoshi said, and Koyama nodded his agreement. "We don't get new people here very often." Then he brightened a little. "But at least I'll be able to sing again."

"Where will you go?" Kusano asked. "Still thinking about fighting that mythical dragon?"

"Don't remind him," Hiroki said immediately.

Ryo stuck his tongue out at Hiroki, making the others laugh. "A mythical dragon doesn't do us much good. None of you have any other ideas?"

"What about Sho?" Massu suggested.

"Sho?" Ryo repeated.

"He's a friend of mine," Kato explained. "Well, an acquaintance. He's got a big library and he knows just about anything you can read in a book. If there are any dragons around to slay, or something more manageable, he'll know."

Ryo looked at Hiroki, who said, "Then he sounds like our best bet. Where can we find him?"

"I'll show you where the path is to get to him," Kato said.

"Thanks," Ryo said. It felt a little strange to be leaving, but good to have a destination again after being stuck here. "Then I guess tomorrow we'll be on our way."

 

Kato took them into town the next morning to get new horses, and they even had enough money left over to stock up on food. "It feels like we're really going now," Hiroki commented as they approached the house. "I'll miss you guys." He clapped a friendly hand on Kato's back.

By now, Ryo had come to expect Kato jumping away every time he and Hiroki touched. He did that, but this time, he didn't blush. He looked startled, maybe even shocked. Hiroki didn't seem to notice, but Ryo was worried. He was about to ask if Kato had seen something when the others all piled out of the house at once.

"Oh, you got them," Koyama said, looking a little disappointed.

"Don't sound so excited," Hiroki teased.

Koyama started to smile, but then he turned to look at Kato, frowning. Kato still looked a little pale, his lips pressed together. "What's wrong, Shige?" Koyama asked. The fact that Koyama had picked up on him being freaked out by the vision didn't seem like a good sign to Ryo.

"Ryo," Kato said, suddenly grabbing his sleeve. "You..." Kato's eyes darted toward Hiroki and back again. Ryo's stomach twisted; whatever he'd seen, it had been right after he touched Hiroki.

Hiroki laughed nervously. "What? Did you see me do something embarrassing?"

Kato didn't answer right away, so Yamapi stepped forward. "What did you see?" he asked. 

"I...don't know. I saw blood, and Ryo," Kato started nervously. He still looking shaken. "He was yelling for Hiroki." Something lurched in Ryo's gut and he saw Hiroki's smile falter. "Maybe it won't come true," Kato continued quickly. "I don't even know how serious it is; I didn't see Hiroki hurt. It was just that flash and without any context, it's hard to tell what it means." It sounded like he was trying to reassure himself more than anything.

Hiroki was quiet, tense. Ryo felt like he needed to say something, but he didn't know what. "When?" he asked after a moment. "Or where? Where would this happen?"

Kato frowned. "I don't know. I'm sorry." Ryo grimaced; what could they do without any details? Then Kato added, thinking hard, "I did see one thing that might help. There was a red sash tied around a tree, with some kind of medallion attached to it." He shook his head, as though trying to drive the vision away. "Maybe it's nothing. I just, the way you yelled..." he trailed off, looking worried.

Koyama was pale, looking like he'd taken a physical blow. "You should stay here," he said, almost a plea.

"But we don't know if or when this will happen," Hiroki said, his voice slightly shaky even as he tried to be reassuring. "It could look worse than it is. Maybe Ryo-chan was just overreacting."

Kato nodded like he was trying to convince himself. "That may be true..."

"But..." Koyama started, still looking worried.

"We have to go," Hiroki said. "We've come too far not to finish, and this isn't our home. Besides, it could happen if we went straight back to Osaka or even if we stayed around here. There's no way to tell." He still looked uneasy, but it sounded like he meant it.

"Hiroki..." Ryo said. He didn't like this, but he had to admit Hiroki had a point. "Are you sure?"

Hiroki nodded, flashing a tight smile at him. "It'll be okay. Now that we know it's coming, we can be more prepared, change my fate or something like that." He laughed, but it sounded forced.

Ryo wondered if he was right, if they could really change what had happened in the vision. They'd have to; he couldn't let anything happen to Hiroki when he wouldn't even be here if not for Ryo. "We'll stop it," he said firmly, hoping he sounded convincing. "Your visions don't always come true, right?" he asked Kato.

"Umm..." Kato looked like he'd been dreading that question. "As far as I know, they always have," he admitted. "But there are a lot of cases where I don't know what happened in the end, so I guess it's possible..."

"You could try to be a little more reassuring," Hiroki said dryly. "I'll let you know when we prove you wrong so you'll have something better to say next time this comes up."

Kato smiled weakly. "I'd appreciate that."

"So..." Ryo said in the awkward silence that followed. "I guess it's time to go." He still didn't like this, but he didn't see any alternative. Hiroki was right; they couldn't stay here.

They packed up their belongings quickly and quietly. Ryo kept glancing over at Hiroki, trying to gauge his mood, until he finally snapped, "Relax, Ryo-chan! You're making me nervous."

"Sorry," Ryo mumbled. "I just..."

"Don't worry," Hiroki said. "You know me. Do you think I'd ever do anything heroic enough to get myself killed? Especially now."

That got a laugh out of Ryo, barely. "Good point. But be careful, okay?"

Hiroki smiled. "I promise. And if anything dangerous comes at us, I promise to hide behind you and let you kill it."

Ryo didn't feel much better, but he smiled anyway. Packing finished, they went outside again and loaded their belongings onto the horses, then turned to the others. "Thank you for taking care of us," Hiroki said politely, and Ryo echoed the sentiment.

"Come visit anytime!" Koyama said, sniffling a little.

"But wear earplugs," Tegoshi added with a wink.

After a few more comments, they were on their way. It felt good to finally get on with their journey. Staying there had been fun (and a good learning opportunity), but the lack of progress had been starting to eat at Ryo (not to mention the constant talking, and the meddling, and the hard work).

He was also eager to get moving because finally, thanks to Kato and the others, they actually had a planned destination rather than just continuing blindly down the path. He felt something like nervous excitement building in his stomach. If this Sho person could really help him find a quest, he had confidence that he would be able to complete it. Then he would have, if not an answer to all his unspoken questions, then at least the confidence to face his problems at home.

Hiroki turned around to wave a few more times at the six figures behind them faded from view. "They were pretty nice," he said, "for magical beings. It's nice to know they're not all like the goblins." 

Ryo made a noise of agreement, looking ahead of them. The edge of the forest was coming into view as their horses trotted along. Kato had said it should only be a few days, a week at most, to get to the town where Sho lived. They would be traveling through this forest for half of that time, and the rest of the time would be in open grassland. If they could get through the forest, then they shouldn't have anything to worry about.

Not that he was _too_ worried, really. He had to believe that Hiroki would be okay, whether because they would avert what Kato had seen or because it wasn't as serious as it had looked. After all, this was Hiroki they were talking about. How could someone so full of life (not to mention so cowardly) die so easily? No, Hiroki would be safe and they would complete their quest and go back to Osaka with their heads held high. He was sure of it.

Hiroki didn't seem worried either, prattling on about their time with Yamapi and the others and about the road ahead of them and about all sorts of ridiculous ideas for what they should do to complete their quest. Ryo thought about telling him to be quiet before he brought every dangerous creature in the forest down on them, but somehow he just smiled instead.

This forest wasn't as thick as the one where they'd encountered the goblins, so the sunlight filtered down through the branches. They made good time, even with Hiroki insisting they stop to stretch their legs regularly, but by the time it started to get dark, they were still in the middle of the forest. "We should find a place to sleep," Ryo said, looking around. If there were any inhabitants in the forest, human or otherwise, Ryo didn't see them, so it looked like they'd be sleeping on the ground tonight.

"I hate sleeping outside," Hiroki whined. "It's getting cold too."

"Shut up," Ryo said halfheartedly; he didn't even bother getting annoyed with Hiroki's whining most of the time after all these years. He took the sleeping pad from his pack and laid it on the ground, which was dry but relatively soft. Sleeping on it wouldn't be so bad.

Hiroki grabbed his own sleeping pad, looking disdainfully at the ground before settling next to Ryo. "It's a big forest..." Ryo said.

"It's cold and I'm tired," Hiroki retorted, as if that was all there was to it. He lay down and covered himself with Ryo's blanket. "You can share or you can freeze," he added.

"You're such a pain," Ryo muttered, but he slid under the blanket anyway. It was warmer like this, he thought, and then in no time at all, he was asleep.

 

Ryo woke up feeling warm, something heavy covering his waist. The sun had just come up and the birds were chirping, and Hiroki stirred behind him. It was still annoying, being treated like a stuffed animal, but he wasn't as put out now that there was no one there to see it.

"Idiot, wake up," Ryo said, rolling away from him and shaking his shoulder. They needed to make better time than this. He was getting impatient to have a quest and not just be on the road to find one.

"Fine," Hiroki mumbled, sounding unhappy as he folded up the blanket and helped pack up their makeshift camp. Ryo reached into his bag, grabbing a piece of bread and handing another to Hiroki. Neither of them were morning people, but they didn't linger long. The sooner they got out of the forest, the sooner Ryo felt he could relax.

"Let's head out. We need to make more progress than yesterday." He mounted his horse and headed back towards the path they'd been on yesterday. Hiroki followed close behind, still yawning occasionally. The forest was more lively now, the sound of birds and the wind rustling through trees all around them as they rode on. Their horses occasionally whickered back and forth, as if mimicking the way their riders conversed. Ryo mostly listened to Hiroki talk, focused on the path ahead.

"Let's stop for lunch," Hiroki said after a few hours of riding. "I hear a creek nearby."

Ryo wanted to continue on, but it would be good to give their horses a drink of water and stretch their legs. Riding all day was tiring. "All right," he said, stopping his horse and dismounting onto slightly wobbly legs. He was used to riding horses long distances, but not day after day.

Hiroki seemed to be having the same problem, making a pained face as he swung off his horse. "My ass hurts," he complained, and Ryo snorted.

They led their horses off the path a little way, listening to the sound of the creek as they got closer, twigs snapping underneath their feet. They came down an embankment a few minutes later and grinned when the stream came into view. "Finally!" Hiroki said, leading his horse down to the bank and letting her drink.

"I want to take another look at the map we got," Ryo said, throwing his saddlebag down before letting his horse join Hiroki's.

"I wonder how far we've made it," Hiroki said, pulling some food out of his own pack.

The map was from Old Dusty's collection and it wasn't as helpful as Ryo would've hoped. Half the labels were in a language he couldn't even read, and others said extremely helpful things like "Rock." But it was better than traveling blindly down the path like they'd been doing up until now, at least. It showed the paths in the area, if not any indication of where they were.

"Do you think that's Large And Very Old Tree?" he asked Hiroki, pointing at a tree that was pretty big and looked like it could be quite old.

"As opposed to all the other big, old trees?" Hiroki leaned over to look at the map. "This thing is useless. How are we supposed to use things like Aura Of Goode Magick as landmarks?"

Ryo shrugged and put the map away. "At worst, we'll just continue down the path. This'll tell us which forks to take, and the rest doesn't really matter."

They rode through the forest all afternoon, and just when Ryo was starting to think that they'd have to spend another night in the forest, he saw brighter light up ahead.

"That looks promising," Hiroki said hopefully. "Let's hurry." Ryo spurred his horse on. If that was the grasslands they were seeing ahead, they were making great progress.

Sure enough, just as the sun dipped behind the horizon, they reached the edge of the forest. It was an impressive sight, a sea of almost blue-looking grass stretched out under a red-gold sky fading to all colors of the rainbow. Ryo stopped to admire the view, and Hiroki pulled up beside him. "It's beautiful," he breathed.

Ryo smiled to himself. This was more what he'd imagined a quest would be like, long days of riding through stunning landscapes and sleeping out in the open, not sleeping in a bed at night and cleaning dusty attics during the day.

It was getting dark quickly, so they rode only a little further before dismounting to eat and rest. It was warmer here than in the forest, but a cold wind was starting to blow, so Ryo didn't object to Hiroki curling up next to him. It was warm like that, and the grass made a soft bed, and soon he fell asleep.

 

Ryo woke in the middle of the night to Hiroki's hand squeezing his shoulder. "Ryo, wake up," he hissed.

"Hmm?" Ryo struggled to open his eyes, but he couldn't see anything in the darkness that would have scared Hiroki. There was no moon, so the night was pitch black.

"I heard something," Hiroki whispered. Before Ryo could ask what, he heard a howl, followed by several more.

"Wolves," he said, though for all he knew it could be some magical creature. Hiroki was still holding tight to him, but he pulled away and got to his feet, drawing his sword. "Stay behind me," he said. "Face the other way and if you hear anything, swing at it, even if you're not sure."

"Okay," Hiroki said weakly. He stood up and Ryo heard the sound of a sword being drawn. They stood back to back, tense, listening, waiting.

When Ryo heard a sound, he slashed at it before he'd had time to think about it. He'd never been in a situation like this before, but his training was good. His sword struck a glancing blow to something, and when he swung it the other way, he scored a real hit. The wolf (or whatever it was) whimpered and fell to the ground.

Before he could celebrate, Hiroki shrieked, "Ryo-chan!" He swung his sword wildly, but it was Hiroki who hit something. It growled, and Hiroki gave a whimper a lot like the injured wolf. Instinct took over and Ryo pushed him away, stabbing in the direction the growl had come from. His blade hit home and the animal fell, barely giving Ryo time to free his sword before the horses' whickering alerted him to another wolf behind him. He spun around and missed twice, but the third swing caught it and the fourth killed it.

There was silence. "Is that it?" Hiroki asked.

"Let's not wait to find out." Thankfully, the horses hadn't escaped, so they sheathed their swords, grabbed their blankets and quickly rode away. Ryo didn't like riding in the dark, but the land was flat and empty and they managed without incident. They rode in silence until the sun came up, when it finally seemed safe.

"That was awful," Hiroki said as he dismounted. He looked pale and tired, but relieved.

"But we're okay," Ryo said gruffly. "See? I wouldn't let anything happen to you."

That got a smile from Hiroki. "You were amazing, Ryo-chan! I was so scared I couldn't do anything." Ryo smiled, feeling better in the light of day. They'd be fine; he could take care of them both if he had to.

The adrenaline had long since worn off and neither of them had slept long enough to be well rested. Ryo stretched out his legs, making a face at how stiff they were. He didn't feel like riding more now, but he didn't want to waste the day. "We'll stop to sleep early tonight," he said, pulling out breakfast for the both of them.

Hiroki took a huge bite of the fruit, juice dribbling down his chin, and looked around. They were still in grassland, and the view was even prettier as the sun kept ascending into the sky. "Since we've made it out of the forest, we should reach this Sho person by tomorrow night," Hiroki said, still chewing, his fingers trailing over the map. "If we're looking at this right."

Ryo bit into the fruit himself. It was something he hadn't tasted before, but it was sweet and good, with lots of juice inside it. Massu had shoved a few in their bags before they left, talking about how healthy they were. "Don't get the map all sticky," he said, pulling it away and shaking his head when Hiroki belatedly wiped his hands on his pants.

"Oops," he said sheepishly.

"You're hopeless," Ryo grumbled, shaking his head exaggeratedly. Hiroki just shrugged, more than accustomed to their banter. He never acted according to his place, but Ryo didn't really care.

They ate quickly, trying to plan out their route, but it was hard to tell if they were going the right way when there was nothing but tall grass all around them. Still, they rode steadily, only stopping briefly to eat or stretch their legs. Once it turned dusk, Ryo started thinking about where they should camp. They hopefully wouldn't run into more wolves, but being out in the open wasn't exactly the safest option. 

"There's nowhere else," Ryo said finally. "We might as well stop here." Hiroki looked exhausted, and Ryo felt just as tired. They both quickly brushed their horses and threw down their blankets. Ryo was too tired to care when Hiroki sprawled out almost on top of him.

Hiroki started snoring almost immediately, but even though he was exhausted, Ryo had a hard time relaxing. The memory of what had happened the night before was fresh in his mind, and Kato's vision too. They'd made it through the attack without any injuries, but would they be as lucky if the wolves attacked a second time, or if something worse came after them? Danger could strike them anywhere, of course, but he wondered if he was making the wrong choice by continuing on this quest. Then again, he couldn't face the alternative of going home with his tail between his legs. He'd learned and accomplished some things already, but nothing that made him feel ready to return home and do his duty.

His mind heavy with those thoughts, Ryo sat up (after moving Hiroki's arm off his waist which it had somehow found its way to again). If he wasn't going to fall asleep, he could at least keep watch. He stared into the dark and strained his ears, but all he saw was darkness and all he heard was the occasional chirp of an insect. Maybe there would be nothing to worry about tonight after all.

The next thing Ryo knew, the sun was warm on his face, and bright when he opened his eyes. "What are you doing over there?" Hiroki asked. Ryo had been sleeping by his feet, completely off the blanket.

"I was trying to keep watch," Ryo admitted sheepishly.

Hiroki laughed. "Since nothing attacked us during the night, I guess you did a good job."

They ate a quick breakfast and set out, hoping to make it to their destination by the end of the day. They made good time over the flat ground, and late in the afternoon, they spotted a few buildings in the distance. "Do you think that's it?" Hiroki asked. "It doesn't look like much of a town."

"Maybe there's more past that," Ryo said. The landscape was starting to get more uneven, and it looked like there were hills up ahead.

It took them another hour to reach those buildings, which turned out to be two houses and a barn. In that time, clouds had started to move in and quickly covered the sky. "Another storm?" Hiroki whined.

"Oh, that," said an unfamiliar voice. Ryo spun around to see a man standing by the barn, human-shaped but with his skin a pale but unmistakable blue. He was smiling, like he didn't expect them to find anything odd about his appearance or his butting into their conversation. "That's what happens when the demon's in a bad mood."

"Demon?" Hiroki echoed, going pale.

Ryo didn't like the sound of that at all. He'd heard a lot about demons in his childhood, and none of it had been good. He knew those stories had been meant to scare him into behaving, but that didn't mean some of them weren't true. Hearing that there was a demon in this town didn't really surprise him, but it did worry him. After all, not every creature they met along the way would help them like Yamapi and the others, or even leave them uninjured like the goblins had.

They needed to found find this Sho person quickly, before they got themselves into trouble. Ryo took a step toward the blue person. "Have you heard of someone named Sho?" he asked.

"Sho...you mean the librarian?"

"Probably," Ryo said uncertainly. "Maybe?" Kato hadn't said that Sho was a librarian, but he supposed that would make sense.

"Ah. Keep going straight," the man said.

"Thank you," Hiroki said quickly, looking nervously at the ominous black clouds.

The humanoid also stared up at the swirling clouds. "If brimstone falls, take cover. He's really angry today." With that, he disappeared with a soft pop.

"Oh god," Hiroki groaned. He spurred his horse forward, and Ryo followed. They hurried along the path, keeping a wary eye on the sky. After cresting a large hill, a good-sized village suddenly came into view. This must be what Kato had meant.

"Let's ask someone where the library is," Hiroki suggested, pulling even with Ryo so they rode side by side.

Most of the townspeople seemed to have taken shelter from the storm, but he could see a woman ahead of them packing up a roadside cart. As they got closer, Ryo could see that there was a sort brownish pattern on her skin that looked a lot like tree bark and leaves mixed in with her brown hair. He didn't have time to worry about what she was, though, not with the threat of brimstone showers quite literally hanging over them.

"Excuse me," he said. "Could you tell me where the library is?"

"Go right when you reach the town square," she said without looking up. "It'll be on your left next to the well. But hurry; he usually locks up the place when Jun is in a bad mood so he can go calm him down."

"Jun?" Hiroki asked, but Ryo didn't want to waste any time.

"Thank you for your help. Let's go," he told Hiroki, riding off without waiting for him.

"This place is nuts," Hiroki muttered as he caught up to Ryo, who had to agree.

Thankfully, the town square was nearby, and almost as soon as they turned, Ryo saw a sign for the library. He pulled up next to it. "What about our horses?" Hiroki asked, frowning at the ever-darkening sky. It was starting to rain, big, fat, cold drops.

Ryo looked around for some shelter, but he didn't see anything. "We'll just have to hope there's no brimstone," he said. "They can handle a little rain."

He tied his horse up by the well and tried the door to the library. It was a huge relief when he opened, and he and Hiroki hurried inside. Almost the second they stepped inside, it started to pour. "Good timing," Hiroki said, closing the door behind him.

The library was nothing like what he had back home but it was big enough, with many shelves of old-looking books. They walked further into the building, looking around. The sound of rain was soon accompanied by the low rumble of thunder, and lightning flashed a few minutes later. Ryo and Hiroki exchanged a look. The demon had to be really angry. Ryo just hoped that their horses wouldn't be too scared. 

"Come on, Sho, hurry up and go calm him down," someone complained. They turned a corner and saw two creatures standing in between some bookcases. Their faces looked almost human, but one was short and the other thin and waif-like, too extreme for either of them to be human. Ryo wondered what they were. 

Sho, that had to be the person Kato had talked about. Ryo hadn't thought they would be able to find him so fast. The creature they'd met on the edge of the town had actually been helpful; aside from the storm, things seemed to be going relatively smoothly.

"If you would stop your pranks..." Sho started, annoyance evident in his tone. He belatedly noticed the two of them standing there and broke off. The other creature cackled, and it sent little shivers up Ryo's spine. "Who are you?" Sho asked, looking them up and down as if they were something abnormal. Maybe there weren't many humans around here. 

"Sho-san, Kato sent us" Ryo said, stepping forward. "We need your help with a quest," 

"I'm Hiroki and this is Ryo. Kato said you could help us find information," Hiroki added. 

Just then, a loud clap of thunder shook the library building and Sho frowned. The storm was getting worse. "Nino, you behave," he said sharply. "The two of you, wait here. I'll be back in a little while." He disappeared quickly, the door slamming behind him as he hurried out into the downpour.

The other one, who Sho had called Nino, turned to look at them with a sort of amused curiosity in his eyes that made Ryo nervous. "Friends of Kato's, huh?" he asked. "He's pretty boring, that guy. Lots of fun to play with, though."

Hiroki shot Ryo a nervous look but kept his mouth shut. "So, you're, umm, a friend of Sho-san?" Ryo asked, trying to make conversation.

"He might disagree," Nino said, "but I'd say so. We live together."

Ryo couldn't keep the surprise off his face, and Nino immediately started laughing. "Not like that. Us and three others, including the idiot causing this storm."

"You're friends with a demon?" Hiroki took a step backwards, shock written all over his face.

"He's really not that bad once you get to know him," Nino said, clearly amused. "You just have to be careful about making him mad. I always forget that..." Judging from his smirk, "forget" was probably not the right word.

"What kind of creature is friends with a demon?" Hiroki asked. He was still trying to keep a safe distance between him and Nino, and Ryo couldn't blame him. There was something about this guy that made him uncomfortable. Usually Hiroki was more polite than that (with strangers, anyway), but it seemed he wasn't thinking about that now.

"A more powerful demon." Nino's tone was casual, but this time Hiroki and Ryo both stepped back, and Ryo's hand closed around the hilt of his sword even though it would probably be entirely useless against a demon. He was trying to figure out a way to escape when Nino started laughing. "Just kidding. I'm an imp, if you must know, but all kinds of magical creatures can be friends with demons. It pays to have someone that powerful around, you know. Not that Jun can really do much besides mess up the weather and piss the farmers off, when it comes down to it. But don't tell him I said that because he could crush humans like you with his pinky."

This time, Hiroki moved closer to Ryo, as if he could actually protect him from a demon. Maybe from an imp, but even that was questionable since he wasn't really sure what an imp was. "That's cute," Nino said. "You guys make a sweet couple."

"Eh?!" Hiroki spluttered. That was enough to distract them both from being scared, at least for a few seconds.

"What?" Ryo said, not having any idea how to respond to that. Nino laughed again. "It's not..." Ryo stuttered. Hiroki shifted awkwardly next to him. 

"Oh, so you aren't together? My bad," Nino apologized, but he definitely didn't sound sorry. It seemed like he was playing with them. Ryo frowned, still not sure how much he should be afraid. 

"That was fast," Nino said suddenly, sounding slightly disappointed. 

"What?" Ryo asked. Nino stood up, and Ryo tensed, trying to be ready in case he came at them. He didn't, though, instead sliding open a large window and peering out.

"The storm stopped," he explained with a sigh. Ryo frowned; didn't he want it to stop?

It had stopped raining, although the sky was still covered with gray clouds. That must mean Sho had managed to calm down the demon. "You can relax," Nino said, glancing at the two of them, still frozen in place, Ryo's hand on the hilt of his sword. "I won't hurt you." He moved away from the window and turned to look at them, a smirk on his face as he added, "Unless you give me a reason to."

Ryo really didn't like the smile that accompanied that statement. Hiroki shot him a worried look, looking like he wanted to bolt.

Nino chuckled, like he thought their fear was hilarious. "You two are fun."

Ryo didn't know what to say to that, and Hiroki seemed to still be too scared to be his usual talkative self, so an awkward silence descended until Nino frowned and started to say, "Do you want to see a magi—?"

Before he could finish, a head suddenly appeared in mid-air next to them, making Ryo and Hiroki jump and Nino look annoyed. "Sho says you should bring those visitors over so he can talk to them," the head said disdainfully. "He's afraid if he leaves me alone I'll 'cause more trouble for the villagers.' Like it was all my fault and you didn't give me any reason to be mad."

Was this the demon they'd heard about, Ryo wondered. He didn't look too scary, even as a disembodied head glaring at Nino, but he'd caused quite a storm. Not to mention that anyone who could send his head (or a projection of it, if that's what this was) somewhere else had to be pretty powerful, right?

The head disappeared with a sudden pop, and Nino swung his arm out as if to backhand the cheek that wasn't there anymore. Then he brightened, turning to Ryo and Hiroki. "So, I guess that means you'll get to meet Jun and the others. If you're scared of me..." He seemed way too amused at their expense.

Ryo would really prefer not to be around Nino any longer, but Sho was the only lead they had, and it seemed they couldn't get his help without having to put up with his friends. At least Sho would hopefully keep the others from hurting them. Kato wouldn't have sent them to him if he thought they'd be in real danger there, especially not after his vision.

They got their horses, wet and spooked but otherwise unharmed, from the street. Nino was on foot, so they had to walk, but it only took a few minutes to reach their house. It was a strange-looking place, three uneven stories with some kind of sparkly paint on the eaves and plants Ryo had never seen before growing all around it. It shouldn't be a surprise, he supposed, that an imp, a demon, and whatever the others were would live in such a weird house.

"The others are waiting for you inside," Nino said, the corner of his mouth tilted up in a rather mischievous smile, as they tied their horses to the fence out front. Ryo was still apprehensive, but they both knew they had to do this. It was their only lead for his quest. Hiroki still wasn't saying much, following Ryo closely, albeit not as close as before. 

"Are they here?" A gangly _something_ popped his head out the front door just as they tried to come in.

Nino took a step back, rolling his eyes and shoving the...whatever he was inside. "Aiba, down boy," he said.

Ryo and Hiroki tentatively stepped in after him. The interior was just as flashy as the outside, large, brightly-colored paintings hanging haphazardly all over the walls and statues and figures spread out over every available surface. Ryo's eyes hurt looking at it all. 

Aiba turned around and stood in front of them, looking excited. Ryo stared. He knew he shouldn't, but he couldn't help it. He'd seen some weird things over the course of this quest, but Aiba's ears, large and pointed, and his sharp teeth were a first. He grinned, looking friendly despite the threatening teeth. "I'm Aiba Masaki!" he said cheerfully. His teeth were a discolored yellow and the skin on his face a soft blue green color, but he seemed nice enough.

"Ryo." His voice came out funny and Nino chuckled at his expense. "This is Hiroki." Hiroki bowed his head quickly but didn't say a word.

"You look scared," Sho commented, appearing in the entrance way. "What did you do, Nino?" he asked, glaring in his direction. 

"I didn't do anything," Nino insisted, smiling innocently. 

"He probably said something," Matsujun snapped. "It's his mouth that's usually the problem."

Ryo kept his mouth shut, not wanting to make an enemy by agreeing even though it was true.

"I'm sorry if Nino scared you," Sho cut in diplomatically. "He talks big, but he won't hurt you. Jun won't either, now that he's calmed down."

Somehow that didn't make Ryo feel a lot better, but he held his tongue. Hopefully Sho would be able to help them quickly and then they could get out of here. That might involve facing something scarier than an imp or even a demon, but it would be different if Ryo could face them with a sword in his hand.

"So," Sho continued, "you said something about a quest? What can I help you with?"

Hiroki finally seemed to be getting over his fear, turning to Sho with a bit of a smile. "This guy," he said, jerking his thumb at Ryo, "is on a quest, but he hasn't figured out exactly for what. He wants to go slay a dragon, or maybe something a little easier."

"Ooh, dragons!" Sho perked up immediately. "Dragons are a particular interest of mine, actually. I've been collecting books about them for the last few years. I'd be more than happy to help you find a dragon."

Hiroki was looking like he regretted the dragon comment, but Ryo was pleased. He'd be lying if he said he felt confident about his ability to slay a dragon, but it was an exciting prospect. Doing big things like that was the whole point of going on a quest, right?

Before Ryo or Hiroki could reply, another person wandered down the stairs, yawning. He was short, with blond hair that seemed like it could be natural. He didn't look very distinctive, just oddly...cute. "Oh," he said sleepily, looking at Ryo and Hiroki. "Hi."

"This is Ohno," Sho told them.

"Hi," Hiroki said. "You're not a demon, are you?" he added with a slightly nervous laugh.

"He's a leprechaun," Nino said. "If you rub his head, it'll give you luck."

Ohno looked at Nino blankly for a second before he seemed to register his words. "Hey..."

Nino walked over to demonstrate and Ohno stood there blinking before he ducked out from under his touch, absently fixing his hair. 

"Don't believe most of what Nino says," Jun put in, shooting Nino a quick glare. Nino just shrugged his shoulders, still smirking.

Ryo noticed Hiroki smiling, seemingly calmer now. "Don't leprechauns have rainbows and pots of gold?" he asked. 

"I left mine...somewhere," Ohno said, yawning again and looking bored with the conversation. 

"Oh-chan does that a lot," Nino added, going back to rubbing his head. Ohno didn't bother moving away this time. Ryo tilted his head curiously; they seemed a little...affectionate. 

"So, you know of a dragon?" Hiroki asked, not looking all too excited. 

"Kato mentioned one named Johnny or something, but he said it was mythical," Ryo said.

Sho perked up at that. "No, that dragon is very much real but..." He frowned slightly. "No one knows exactly how powerful he is." Ryo felt excitement bubble in his stomach. Maybe that should scare him off, but this just felt right for some reason. He looked over at Hiroki and suddenly remembered Kato's vision. 

"What's wrong?" Sho asked. Hiroki was looking at him too. 

"Nothing. The dragon would be good but..." Ryo trailed off. This felt like the quest he should do, but he couldn't get that vision out of his head. Of course quests were supposed to be dangerous, and he was willing to risk his own life, but what about Hiroki's? "Maybe it would be better to tackle something you know more about."

"Oh, I know lots about the dragon Johnny," Sho said quickly. "And dragons in general. I have books of easy-to-use spells that are effective against dragons, and books that say which weapons are known to do the most damage to dragons, and—" Nino cleared his throat and Sho broke off. "Anyway, you don't need to be scared."

"I'm not—" Ryo started to protest before he remembered his manners. "That is..." He didn't know how to explain the situation. Hiroki had to know what was holding him back, but he didn't want to say it straight out.

"Why don't you show us your books?" Hiroki suggested. Ryo turned to him in surprise, and Hiroki gave a little shrug. "It can't hurt to look."

"Of course," Sho said, sounding excited. "Let's head back to the library." He turned to give Nino and Jun a sharp look. "You're done for the day, right?"

They both nodded, but Ryo didn't think they looked like they meant it. He hoped there wouldn't be any more storms until at least tomorrow, by which point they would hopefully be far away.

"Don't keep them up all night," Jun said dryly as they left the house.

Sho started to chatter as they walked to the library. "You see, the thing about dragons is that they're very large and powerful, but they have certain vulnerable spots. If you know where to find them, you don't need to be an amazing fighter or have strong magic to defeat them. History is full of stories of heroes defeating dragons with nothing but a sword, and it sounds very impressive, but it's really more a matter of knowledge than ability."

Ryo and Hiroki made acknowledging noises here and there, neither of them having anything to add. It made a certain amount of sense, but it seemed to Ryo that knowing the right place to stab a dragon wouldn't do you much good unless you were also strong enough and fast enough to do that before it killed you.

Sho pulled open the doors to the library and they all stepped inside. The musty smell of old books engulfed them as they walked further into the building. "I have all my dragon books in a special section in the back," Sho explained, sounding excited at the prospect of talking more about dragons.

The shelf was big and had many thick volumes stacked in rows, the entire thing almost reaching the ceiling. Ryo frowned; it would take a really long time to read though all of these. He didn't want to waste too much more time here. What was the point of going on a quest just to sit in a library reading books?

"This is only a small amount of the literature out there on dragons," Sho explained, grabbing a ladder and moving it in front of the bookshelf. 

"That's still a lot," Hiroki said. "Have you read all of them?"

Sho took a few steps up the ladder and reached for a large blue book, pulling it out and passing it down to Ryo. "Hold these," he said, giving an even larger book to Hiroki. They kept grabbing books from Sho as he passed them down, setting them on a nearby table and getting more and more apprehensive about the daunting task of reading through them. Ryo had done a lot of reading for his studies, but this was a little bit ridiculous. 

"The dragon Johnny is elusive, so there isn't much research, but the information in these books should help," Sho said, picking out a rather dusty book and opening it, flipping through its pages.

To Ryo's immense relief, Sho seemed to know these books well already. He found the page he was looking for and set the book down on the table so they could see the drawing in it. "I can't speak to its accuracy, but this is supposed to be a drawing of the dragon Johnny. He's said to be on the small side for a dragon, and not particularly fast or physically strong, but there are rumors that he has other powers that compensate for that. It's all gossip, but I would imagine that there's some truth to it. If not, his territory would have been taken over by a stronger dragon years ago."

"Where is he, exactly?" Hiroki asked. "Does anyone know?"

Sho started flipping through the book again, then set it aside and went for another one. "I can't give you an exact location, but there's a map in here that shows the general area. It's only a few days' travel from here, although it's not the easiest path. Ah, where is it?" He turned the pages faster, then went backwards until he finally found it. "Here. I could get you a copy of this if you like. That's one of Jun's more useful powers."

"We'd appreciate that," Ryo said, more to be polite than anything else. The more he heard about the dragon, the more interested he was in going after it, but he was worried. Maybe he could go after it alone, but he didn't think Hiroki would let him do that. Not that he'd be any help if he came along.

"Are you in a hurry?" Sho asked, still studying the map. "I could put together some information for you about Johnny's weaknesses and some general dragon fighting tricks, but it'll take me a day or two."

Ryo bit his lip, looking at Hiroki again. It felt like everything was moving too fast, like they had already committed themselves to chasing this dragon, and it was making him nervous. "Can we, umm..." He looked helplessly at Hiroki, who made his patented "You're so pathetic, Ryo-chan" face.

"Give us a minute," Hiroki told Sho before grabbing Ryo's arm and pulling him out of the back room. "What are you waiting for, Ryo-chan?" he asked sharply when they were alone. "A sign? You know you want to do this, so do it."

"I can't," Ryo muttered, eyes downcast. He didn't want to blame Hiroki, but it was because of him that he was hesitating, even if it wasn't really his fault.

"How do you even know that I'd get hurt hunting this dragon? We could go after something easier and have it happen, or I could trip and fall and scrape my knee a little. You know, in stories, sometimes trying to prevent a prophecy from coming true leads directly to that future..."

"I just..." Ryo paused, pulling a face. "I don't like the idea of risking your life for my quest."

Hiroki laughed, even though Ryo wasn't joking at all. "It's not like you to be scared," he teased.

Ryo prickled at that. "I'm not scared," he retorted. "I just know you're worthless in fights." 

Hiroki rolled his eyes. "I didn't do too bad with the wolves." Ryo snorted. "Anyway, if I really didn't want to be here, I wouldn't have followed you." He smirked and added, "Even though you have no clue what you're doing or where you're going."

That wasn't exactly true. Ryo had a generally idea of what he was doing and a general direction (forward) that he wanted to go. It was no surprise that Hiroki was mocking him, though. He never seemed to know his place at all, Ryo thought, frowning out of habit.

"Don't come crying to me when the dragon is big and scary then," Ryo said. Hiroki waved him off without commenting. In reality, Ryo was sure Hiroki was worried too, but it was true that there was no guaranteed way to prevent the prophecy from coming true. All they could do was move forward and pay attention to Kato's clue.

"Are we done?" Hiroki asked, and Ryo nodded. Together, they went back into the room where Sho was still poring over his books.

It was a scary thought, even without taking into account his worry about Hiroki, but Ryo had made up his mind. "We'll go after the dragon, Johnny," he said, feeling excited despite his nervousness, at the prospect of defeating this mysterious dragon.

"We'll wait until you can gather information for us," Hiroki added. "We really appreciate the help."

"No problem at all," Sho said brightly. "It's not every day I get to talk to real dragon hunters. I hope you'll come back and tell me all about it afterwards."

"Of course," Ryo said, mentally adding, _if we survive._ Having Sho's help made him feel much more confident, but he still knew well enough that this was a dangerous mission. It wouldn't be a worthy quest if it wasn't.

Sho was looking at his pile of books excitedly, like he didn't even know where to start. "I'll tell you what," he finally said. "Why don't you go back to the house for now? I'll see about gathering some useful information and I can tell you all about it tomorrow."

"Isn't there an inn or somewhere we can stay?" Hiroki asked. "We don't want to bother you." Judging from his expression, he was less worried about inconveniencing them than about spending the night in the presence of a demon, an imp and a...whatever Aiba was. (At least the leprechaun was probably harmless.)

Sho didn't seem to notice. "Not at all. We have plenty of space, and it's not every day we get visitors, especially humans like yourselves. We'd be happy to have you as our guests."

"Well, then," Hiroki said, making a face at Ryo over Sho's head, "we appreciate your hospitality. Let us know if there's anything we can do to help you with your research."

Sho was already nose-deep in a book, so they took that as a hint that it was time to leave. "What if they try to eat us?" Hiroki asked once they were outside. Ryo wasn't entirely sure he was joking.

"That's what swords are for. But try not to offend them. Sho could be a big help to us."

"I'm a lot better at not offending people than you are," Hiroki teased. "Don't worry about me."

It didn't seem like Sho would let the others hurt them, since he was so willing to help them with their dragon, but Ryo didn't trust Nino. He couldn't let his guard down. 

"Good, you're both back," Nino said with a grin. "I was getting hungry." Hiroki paled, but Nino shook his head, laughing. It was an unsettling sound, and it made Ryo's hair stand on end. 

"He isn't serious," Aiba said, bouncing over and dragging them into the dining room.

"You're no fun," Nino whined, trailing behind.

"You should behave," Jun said. "Humans are fragile; they die easily."

"I wasn't going to hurt them, just have some fun," Nino said, muttering something else under his breath. Jun raised an eyebrow, but Nino waved it off. 

Jun was in an apron, floral print with sparkling dots covering it. Ryo didn't know what to think of this group of creatures, besides that they were some of the weirdest people he'd ever met. 

"Ah, it looks good," Aiba said. Ohno came into the room, paint across his cheeks, and sat down next to Nino, looking curiously at the food. Ryo wasn't even sure that he could eat whatever was on the table. He was afraid to ask what kind of meat it was, and the side dishes were nothing like what he usually ate in Osaka. Still, he figured that he should be polite and at least try it. He hadn't realized it before, but he was hungry. 

"Go ahead and eat," Jun said. The weather had cleared up substantially, only white fluffy clouds in the sky as the sun started to descend, so he was clearly in a better mood, but it was also clear that he wouldn't be very happy if they refused the food.

Not wanting to provoke a rain of brimstone, Ryo helped himself to a piece of the mystery meat. Hiroki, the wimp, watched, probably waiting to see his reaction before he tried it himself. Ryo scooped up a bit of rice and stuck the meat in his mouth, and when he did, he almost laughed at how _normal_ it tasted. "It's good!" he said, honestly, and he was surprised to see Jun actually smile, before he caught himself and turned it into a more smug look.

"Of course it is," he said.

"Haven't you ever eaten rabbit before?" Ohno asked.

"It's rabbit?" Hiroki asked, surprised.

Nino chuckled. "What did you think it was?"

Then Ryo did laugh, and Hiroki too. "You could have said that in the first place," Ryo muttered, but he wasn't too bothered. They had kind of deserved it, assuming the worst about these unfamiliar magical creatures.

To Ryo's relief, that broke the ice at the table. They all dug into the food, and although the side dishes tasted much less familiar, they were good, even for a picky eater like Ryo. Hiroki was eating even more enthusiastically, and Jun started to smile in response to his compliments. Aiba asked them questions about their journey, and even if Nino made a lot of sarcastic comments, it was a fun conversation.

Now that he was finally able to relax, Hiroki seemed to be getting along quite well with Aiba. His people skills appeared to extend beyond humans, which didn't really surprise Ryo.

After a little while, Jun brought out a few bottles of red wine. _They even have wine_ , Ryo thought as he cautiously took a sip. It tasted good. Wine had never been his favorite, but he was used to drinking it during dinner with his parents and he could tell this was high quality stuff. Ryo frowned, thinking of his parents. They were probably worried about him, and Hiroki's mom must be freaking out.

"Ryo?" Hiroki asked, nudging his shoulder. 

"...huh?" Ryo said, startled.

Hiroki laughed shortly. "You look entirely too serious." 

Ryo waved him off. "It's nothing." It wouldn't do any good to delve into those kind of thoughts, especially since mentioning Hiroki's mom would probably make him go on about how much he missed her.

The wine was a little stronger than Ryo had anticipated. The world was spinning strangely, and he could see that Hiroki's face was flushed from the alcohol as well. He seemed to be having an easier time of walking as Aiba showed them to their room, though. Ryo had to lean heavily on Hiroki as they stumbled down the hallway together. 

"Sleep well," Aiba said, closing the door. The room was cozy, with two futons spread out on the floor next to each other. 

Ryo belatedly realized that he was still clinging onto Hiroki, who helped Ryo into his futon when he made no move to lie down himself. He tried to move to his own futon, but froze when Ryo still didn't let go. Ryo's head was swimming and he could feel Hiroki's breath on his cheek and for some reason he just wanted to stay like this. 

"Goodnight," Hiroki said thickly, pulling away suddenly and crawling into his own futon. Ryo blinked a few times, trying to figure out his mood, but he couldn't keep his eyes open any longer and he was asleep before he could finish that thought.

 

Ryo woke up in the morning with an unexpectedly large headache. He wondered if there was something in the wine he'd had last night, some magic that had made him get drunk more easily than usual. He must have been drunk; he distinctly remembered clinging to Hiroki before he went to sleep, something he'd never do while sober. Although, really, if they were going to magically enhance the wine, couldn't they magically prevent hangovers too? He winced, bringing a hand to his forehead.

"About time you woke up," Hiroki said, and Ryo jumped a little. Hiroki was still lying on his futon, but he looked like he'd been awake for a while.

"You didn't have to wait for me," Ryo mumbled, still sleepy.

Hiroki laughed dryly. "Those guys aren't as bad as I thought, but I'm still not about to go out there by myself. Come on, get up already." He poked Ryo in the side to emphasize the statement. "Don't you want to hear all about the dragon?" There was something about his smile when he said that that was a little funny, but it seemed genuine enough.

"Oh, right." Ryo forced himself to sit up despite the pounding in his head. If Sho had found the information they needed, they could start off after the dragon today. He needed to be ready to go.

Maybe Ryo should have expected it, given the previous days events, but he was taken completely by surprise when he opened the bedroom door and suddenly found himself soaked in ice-cold water. "What the hell?" he yelled. Behind him, Hiroki was already whining, even though he'd only gotten splashed a little.

Nino and Aiba appeared in the doorway across the hall, snickering. "That was almost too easy," Nino said. "You didn't think to check the door?"

"Of course not!" The people in this house might be used to keeping an eye out for pranks, but Ryo wasn't. Nobody would dump a bucket of cold water on a prince. He shivered and turned a glare on the others. "What was that for?"

"As if Nino ever needs a reason to play a prank on someone," Jun said, coming down the hall. "He couldn't pass up some new targets."

Sho followed Jun a moment later, frowning at the scene. "Is that any way to treat our guests? Especially on a cold day like this." He looked at Ryo, who realized he was still shivering. At least he was fully awake now. "Why don't you take a bath to warm up?" Sho suggested. "Afterward I'll show you what I found. I've got a lot to tell you."

Ryo was still annoyed as Sho showed him to the bathroom. Hiroki waited outside, messing with his hair and grumbling about the state of his clothes even though he wasn't nearly as wet as Ryo. Ryo was a little distracted from his annoyance when he saw the inside of the bathroom; it was nothing like what he had at home. The water seeming to spring from the wall as if by magic, no pipes in sight, and it was the perfect temperature.

They both washed quickly, not making use of the tub but just standing under the shower spray. Ryo, despite being pissed off earlier, actually felt better now. It had been a while since they'd been able to clean themselves up properly. Their clothes, completely dry again, even smelled good, like they were freshly washed. Magic sure was convenient.

Ryo was drying his hair with a towel when Hiroki joined him a few minutes later, only halfway dressed. His chest was as pale as ever, but his face and neck were tanned darker than Ryo had ever seen them from the sun constantly beating down on them while they traveled. It wasn't a bad look for him.

"Ryo?" Hiroki asked, looking at him oddly. Ryo realized belatedly that he'd been staring at him. He tossed Hiroki his shirt, not meeting his eyes, feeling weirdly uncomfortable. 

"Let's hurry and find Sho," he said, changing the subject. Hiroki hummed his agreement, quickly pulling on his shirt and grabbing his belt. They rejoined the others in the living room, looking around for Sho but not seeing him. 

"Uh, where's Sho?" Ryo asked.

"He went back to the library," said a voice behind them. Hiroki jumped, but Ryo recognized Jun's voice (not that that was necessarily much comfort). "He remembered something else he wanted to look up."

"You should probably go find him there," Aiba suggested, "or he'll get distracted and he won't be back for hours."

That seemed like a good idea anyway, since it would be easier to talk to Sho without the others around interrupting and...being themselves. They walked quickly over to the library and found Sho in the back room, intent on a book almost as big as he was. He didn't seem to notice them and Ryo wasn't sure he should interrupt, so he awkwardly cleared his throat.

At first, Sho didn't seem to notice, but after a little while he looked up. "Oh, there you are! Sorry, I wanted to check one more thing. Come, sit down and I'll show you what I found."

They sat at the table, and Sho immediately pulled out a sheet of paper. "This is the map I showed you yesterday," he started. "As you can see, reaching the dragon will require getting through this mountain pass, but with this map to guide you, it should be doable. I also made a copy of this sketch of Johnny and I can show you where some of his weak points are believed to be."

He took out a pen and started drawing on the picture, going on about thin skin and previous injuries and magical sensitivities. It was a lot of information, but Ryo did his best to concentrate and remember everything because it sounded like it could be useful. He wanted to be able to face this dragon as prepared as he could possibly be.

"But we can't do any magic," Hiroki cut in when Sho stopped for breath midway through explaining Johnny's rumored sensitivity to ice magic. "What good will that do us?"

"Ah, yes!" Sho looked excited as he reached for an object at the end of the table. He handed it to Hiroki, who looked at it curiously, turning it so it caught the light and gleamed with all sorts of colors. "This is a charmed stone that will allow the bearer some control of ice magic. It won't make you wizard caliber, but it may be enough."

"How does it work?" Ryo asked. He held his hand out and Hiroki put the stone in it. It was heavier than he expected, and cold, but only an ordinary coldness. If there was any magic in it, he couldn't feel it.

Sho frowned briefly. "Well, its powers can only be called upon when they are needed. I haven't been able to use it, but then again, I've never truly needed it."

Ryo eyed the rock skeptically. It sounded useful, but what good was it if they weren't sure how to use it, or if it would work at all? How would the stone decide when they needed its powers anyway? He turned it over in his hands a few times, but still didn't feel like anything out of the ordinary. He shrugged and slipped it into the satin bag Sho slid across the table at him. 

"You can take it with you," Sho said. "I hope it'll be of some use." He grabbed another book off the stack he had sitting next to him. 

"Thank you," Ryo said, tucking the pouch into his vest. It wouldn't hurt to carry it along with them, and even if there was only a chance it would work, it was better to have something rather than nothing at all if they were going to face this dragon. 

"There's just one more thing," Sho continued, "the mountain pass leading to where we believe the dragon's cave is is a sheer cliff face, and with the elevation, it's extremely dangerous. You probably won't be able to bring horses that far." 

Ryo frowned at that. That would mean they'd have to face the dragon on foot, without the extra boost of speed or height that horses gave them. "What? No horses?" Hiroki asked, looking worried. 

"If you were to bring them, there's a chance that they'll stumble on the rocky terrain and you run the risk of falling off the cliff," Sho said matter-of-factly. Ryo felt uneasy, the horses would be extremely helpful when fighting the dragon (assuming they wouldn't spook), but the pass was worrisome. He wasn't sure which decision was the right one: should they risk it and bring the horses along anyway or should they go on foot and risk not being able to defeat the dragon?

"Well, then..." he said slowly, still thinking, "I guess we'll have to leave the horses behind. It's too much of a risk."

Hiroki was giving him that same pathetic look he'd worn when Ryo said they'd have to work for money to buy the horses, but Ryo wasn't going to let it sway him. "Would you rather fall off a cliff?" he asked. "Or have to abandon the horses in the middle of the mountains to be eaten by wild animals?" Hiroki kept sulking, but Ryo could see that he understood. While he could be very childish sometimes, Hiroki wasn't a complete idiot.

"We can keep your horses for you," Sho offered. "You'll most likely have to pass this way on your way home, so you can pick them up then."

"Thank you," Ryo said. He wasn't sure he trusted Sho's friends to keep their horses safe, but it was the best option he had.

Sho stood up, surveying the books spread out over the table. "I believe that's everything I found. There are some dragons whose location and weaknesses are very well documented, but I'm afraid Johnny isn't one of those. That's probably why Kato thought he was mythical. Defeating him may be more challenging, but there's no question in my mind that the glory will be worth the effort."

He was grinning, looking very excited about this, far more excited than Ryo felt. Not that he wasn't excited to finally have a real target to his quest and the chance to do something truly heroic, but he was a little wary, and it was hard to imagine facing off against a dragon. He was eager to set off, because it was sure to feel more real once they were on their way to Johnny

"When do you want to head out?" Sho asked.

Ryo paused for a moment to consider. "Tomorrow would be ideal, but we'll need to get some extra supplies, since it'll take longer now." 

"Okay, I'll put all this information together for you tonight. You should probably head to the market now and get what you need." Hiroki and Ryo stood up; they didn't have time to waste. Thankfully, they still had money left over from when they had worked, which should be more than enough to cover the unforeseen food expenses. 

The market was lively and there were all sorts of creatures there. Some even looked human, but Ryo was sure they weren't. After all, ordinary humans couldn't make things levitate or make them change shape with a snap of their fingers.

"How about this?" Hiroki asked, holding up a picture with an artistic rendering of Jun's face on it. Ryo scoffed. 

They split up to tackle their list, and it didn't take long for them to gather what they needed. As he finished up, something at the end of the row of stalls caught Ryo's eye, and the old purple man in flowing robes smiled at him. He held up an amulet, a soft pink, and Ryo remembered belatedly that it was Hiroki's favorite color, a point of much mocking from Ryo. 

"It's a charm for protection against danger and injury," the old man said, giving him a toothy smile. Even his teeth had a purple tinge. Ryo didn't really believe in charms; they had something similar in Osaka, but he only wore his out of habit. Still, this one was small and not that expensive, and Ryo found himself buying it without knowing why. Maybe the charms here actually had magic in them, unlike the ones back home.

Hiroki came back into view, carrying some fruit and bread wrapped in paper. They'd have to do some rationing, but if they ran out, they could always catch some small game or fish. Ryo wasn't too worried about it.

Finished with their shopping, they started to make their way back to the house. "Here," Ryo said, shoving the amulet at Hiroki. He needed to hand it over before he felt too silly for buying it. 

Hiroki looked surprised, looking at it and trying to decipher the scrawling script on it. "What is it?" he asked.

Ryo turned away, not looking at him. "It's supposed to protect people from injury," he mumbled. He didn't really know why he'd bought it, but he felt a little pleased with himself when he glanced over and saw Hiroki smiling. 

"Thanks," Hiroki said, sliding it into a pocket inside his vest, and Ryo was surprised that he didn't mock him for it. They walked quietly back to the house. They'd pack tonight and set off early in the morning.

They stayed with Sho and the others again that night and it was unexpectedly fun, even though Ryo avoided the wine this time. Nino talked Hiroki into rubbing Ohno's head for good luck, just in case it actually worked. Sho (who had been drinking, quite a lot) tried to teach Ryo a warming charm "for those cold nights in the mountains," while Jun muttered something about gnomes who thought they were wizards but couldn't do magic if someone shoved a wand in their hand. He was probably right, since the charm didn't seem to do anything, but Ryo tried to be polite about it anyway.

After dinner, they packed up their things, trying to decide what they could leave behind since they wouldn't have the horses to carry their bags anymore. Ryo wondered as he set some spare clothes aside if they'd ever see their horses or their belongings again. Who knew what would happen after they fought the dragon? Would they pass back this way? Would they even survive?

That was an unpleasant thought, so he pushed it aside. Of course they would survive. Ryo didn't really fancy himself some storybook hero, but even so, people didn't go on big quests like this only to be defeated at the end. They would survive, and hopefully even defeat the dragon, because that's how this was supposed to be. He had to believe that, anyway, if he was going to be brave enough to move forward. And he had to be brave enough to balance out Hiroki being a big coward, didn't he?

That thought made him laugh, and Hiroki gave him a funny look. "What?"

"Nothing," Ryo said quickly. "I'm just excited."

"I'm just glad we're getting out of here before Nino plays any more pranks or Jun tries to kill us," Hiroki said dryly. "Even if we are headed for something even scarier."

"Aww, is little Hiroki scared?" Ryo teased.

Hiroki glared at him and threw one of the pillows at his face. "Shut up," he snapped, sticking out his tongue. "Like you aren't."

Ryo hurled the pillow back at him, the hair on the side of his head sticking up a bit from where he'd been hit. Hiroki laughed as the pillow bounced off his shoulder. 

"We'll be fine," Ryo said, trying to convince Hiroki as much as himself. They had lots of information from Sho; they'd get through this somehow.

Hiroki returned to packing, extra clothes and a blanket making their way into his bag. They'd already left out some of their gear; if their packs were too heavy, they'd never make it. 

"Let's hurry up and beat this dragon," Hiroki said, tightening the drawstring on his pack and testing its weight. "It's getting close to festival season; I really want some of those fried noodles," He frowned; the pack still looked a little heavy, but they needed everything in it. 

"Those are good," Ryo agreed absently. Hiroki didn't say anything, but Ryo was sure he was missing his mom; he was abnormally attached to her. Ryo was a little homesick too, but things were getting exciting now. They'd be off on their real quest tomorrow, at last. Finally having a goal was daunting, but he was anxious to get going. 

"That's as good as it's going to get," Ryo said when their packs were finally put together by the bedroom door to be ready to go in the morning. Hiroki spread out his futon and adjusted his pillow. Ryo flicked off the lights after Hiroki slid into bed. 

"Goodnight, Ryo-chan," Hiroki said.

Ryo crawled in between his own blankets. "'Night", he mumbled before quickly falling asleep.

It wasn't a restful sleep. Ryo kept dreaming of dark, thick woods with strange beasts stalking him and Hiroki. He never saw them, but he could hear the rustling of the bushes as the animals followed behind them, as if they were waiting for the perfect moment to attack.

He woke up tired, lying at a weird angle with his blanket kicked down to his feet. Hiroki was still sleeping soundly, so at least one of them would be starting this leg of their trip well rested. "Wake up," Ryo said, taking his grumpiness out by poking Hiroki in the side. The sun was slanting in through the small window; it was time they were on their way.

Hiroki groaned in answer but didn't move, so Ryo poked him again, harder. "Come on. The sun is up, the birds are singing, and I'll tell Nino to dump freezing water on you if you don't get up soon."

"Sadistic jerk," Hiroki muttered, but he opened his eyes to glare at Ryo, so that was a start.

"Get up," Ryo said. "The sooner we start, the sooner we'll get there." He stood up to make his point, putting on his jacket and picking up his sword.

"That's what I'm afraid of," Hiroki grumbled, but he got up, stretched, and started to dress.

Ryo didn't comment on that, just walked over to their bags and picked his up. It didn't feel too heavy, but he was sure he'd think differently after carrying it all day. He opened the door, carefully this time, but no water fell on him this time.

"I decided to go easy on you since you've got such a long day ahead of you," Nino said, appearing out of nowhere (although not literally; Ryo was pretty sure only Jun could do that).

"You're very kind," Hiroki said, coming up behind Ryo, and Nino grinned.

"Ready to go?" Aiba asked cheerfully.

Ryo looked at Hiroki, who shrugged. "As ready as we'll ever be."

"What kind of attitude is that?" Jun sneered.

"I'm so excited!" Hiroki amended, sarcasm heavy in his tone. "I love hiking through the mountains!" Ryo smacked him, but he had to laugh.

"I really hope you'll come back and tell me all about your experience," Sho put in earnestly. "Hearing a firsthand account of a dragon slaying would be amazing, not to mention having more concrete information about a mysterious dragon like Johnny."

"We will," Ryo promised. "We wouldn't even know where to find him if not for your help."

"My pleasure. Please be careful on your journey," Sho said, waving them off. Ryo and Hiroki smiled as they headed off on their journey, turning around to give one final wave before facing forward into the sun shining brightly down over the land. 

They walked along mostly in silence as the sun climbed further and further up into the sky. It would be a long journey, but they had gotten up early enough and Ryo had faith that they could make good progress, unless Hiroki got too lazy.

"This sucks," Hiroki grumbled, right on cue, adjusting his pack on his shoulders. Ryo laughed. "What?" Hiroki asked, frowning at him. 

"I knew you'd say that," Ryo said, still smiling. He knew Hiroki too well, and he wasn't really bothered by his whining yet. "We just started. You can't start complaining already." Hiroki rolled his eyes, finally fixing his pack, and they kept walking. The small houses faded into the distance and fields sprawled out before them, the mountains off in the distance getting slowly but surely closer and closer with each hour they walked.

They talked a little as they continued on, but mostly they were quiet. It was harder work than riding, hiking while carrying a big bag. The silence wasn't uncomfortable, though. Ryo was comfortable with Hiroki, unlike most people, so he knew he could talk if he wanted to (and only risk being laughed at) or not and it would be okay. It was a nice, relaxed sort of feeling, walking along with Hiroki and thinking that he wouldn't want to be on a quest with anyone else.

They stopped briefly for lunch but mostly kept walking steadily. Hiroki whined more in the afternoon, but to his credit, he still kept walking. By the time the sky started to darken, they had almost reached the foothills. "Let's just get there and we can stop for the night," Ryo said. "It shouldn't be much farther."

It was further than it looked, so it was almost dark by the time they reached the hills and they were both worn out. "I think leaving behind the horses was one of the worst decisions we've made since leaving home," Hiroki whined, dropping his pack and slumping to the ground. "Walking is for peasants." He was mostly joking, but not entirely.

Ryo rolled his eyes. "Shut up and eat," he suggested, handing Hiroki a piece of bread from his bag. Hiroki found a sausage in his pack and they shared that too. Ryo found he was starving, and tired too know that he'd stopped walking. They ate quickly, spread out their blankets, and went to sleep without another word.

 

Ryo woke up too early in the morning feeling uncomfortable. It wasn't because of Hiroki using him as a pillow this time. The weather was different here than in the other places they'd been, and his clothes and hair were wet with the morning dew. He shivered and tried to burrow further under his blanket, but that was wet too and didn't do him much good.

His movement woke Hiroki, who groaned, probably experiencing the same thing. "I've had it with this questing thing," he muttered, getting stiffly to his feet and wiping his hands over his clothes in an attempt to remove the moisture. Ryo followed suit, yawning hugely as he stood up.

"Let's get going," Ryo said, packing up his wet blanket. He tied it to the outside of his pack with some rope, hoping that the sun would dry it out before they had to stop for the night. He considered the map for a few seconds, and then he and Uchi started up into the foothills, following a dirt road. It would eventually end, and from there it would be following the paths of deer while using a small device Sho had given them that would tell them what direction they were headed. That, at least, would come in handy. 

"My legs feel like they're made out of lead," Hiroki mumbled, shouldering his pack and following behind Ryo as they started up the mountain, nibbling on a small hunk of bread as they walked.

Ryo grunted; he understood the feeling. His legs were still sore from the long trek they'd made the day before, but it was just starting and it was only going to get more difficult. At least the foliage in the foothills wasn't dense, mostly bushes and grass, but when he looked up the hill and to the mountains, he realized that the higher they climbed, the more forest there would be. Once they got into the mountains, it would be dark and cold. Ryo didn't know how long it would take to get over the mountain pass and to Johnny, but he knew right now that it wouldn't be an easy journey. He was going to hear a lot of whining from Hiroki. 

"Shit," Hiroki shouted, and Ryo spun around, his heart beating wildly. 

"What?" he asked, seeing that Hiroki was still standing there, looking fine. 

"The bush just moved. What if it's a snake?" Hiroki whined, moving closer to Ryo, who just rolled his eyes, annoyed that he'd gotten so worked up over nothing. 

"If you scream again, it better be because it bit you," Ryo grumbled, trudging on. 

"Jerk," Hiroki responded. He was probably sticking his tongue out, but Ryo didn't bother to look. What an idiot, making him worry like that. 

They stopped a few times to rest their legs and drink some water, but Ryo tried to keep their pace strong. They had to be careful not to spend too much time dawdling or they'd run out of food, and that would weaken them. He hoped they could camp near Johnny's territory for a night or so and rest before they had to face him, to recoup some of the energy they were going to lose on this hike. They couldn't very well face a dragon at less than one hundred percent.

The path quickly got steeper as they approached the mountains. Ryo wouldn't have really been able to fault Hiroki for whining now, but he didn't seem to have the breath for it anymore. They weren't making as much progress as Ryo would've liked, but at least they were moving steadily.

By the second night, they were into the woods. The air was damp and cool during the day and colder at night, so they slept close together and Ryo didn't bother complaining when he woke up with Hiroki once again using him as a teddy bear.

They spent the better part of a day hiking through dense forest, but then it started to clear up as they got higher. It was cold now, with a bit of snow on the ground even though it was almost summer, and they wrapped their blankets around their shoulders during the day. This was much harder than any of their travel up until now, but Ryo reasoned that something worth doing was bound to be hard. It made him feel better to think that, anyway.

By the fourth day, the vegetation had gotten sparse and Ryo could feel the elevation when he tried to breathe. The path was gone, and they had to use the device Sho had given them to find their way. That made it harder to go fast, but it was a good sign too; that meant they had almost reached the mountain pass.

When they finally reached the mountain pass, there was no mistaking it. They didn't need the device anymore because there was only one way to go, straight across a thin ledge of rock with a sheer drop on both sides. It was barely as wide as a horse's hoofspan, and not much better for a human.

"I see why Sho told us not to bring the horses," Hiroki said, hanging back a little. He was obviously scared, and Ryo couldn't blame him. It was a long way down, and who knew how stable that rock was.

Ryo adjusted his backpack again, trying to make sure it was well balanced and Hiroki followed suit, unusually quiet. Ryo spared him a glance, he looked pale, his lips pressed tightly together. 

"Go slowly and watch your footing. I'll go first," Ryo said, tentatively stepping out onto the ledge. He could see the other side. The treacherous portion of the trail was longer than he liked, but eventually it widened and they'd be able to start heading down the other side of the mountain, almost right by where Johnny was supposed to be. 

Ryo moved forward at a cautious pace, aware of his footing and trying not to freak out too much when he kicked some pebbles off the thin ridge and they tumbled down the side of the mountain. One wrong step and either one of them could end up a few thousand feet down there. It was practically a straight drop, no hope of catching themselves and climbing back up. 

"Ryo-chan," Hiroki called, nervousness lacing his voice when Ryo's foot slid on some slate, more chunks of rock falling down the sides. He didn't lose his balance, but it made him pay more attention to his footing as they made slow progress across the ledge. 

"I'm fine," Ryo said, trying to convince himself. He was almost a quarter of the way across. They were mostly silent, Ryo occasionally shouting a warning back to Hiroki as to where the unstable parts of the path were. They continued like that until the path started to widen and, finally a large rock face rose up to their left, giving them something to brace themselves against as they walked. 

At last, they reached the other side. "Thank god," Hiroki said, sinking to the ground and taking deep breaths.

Once Ryo's heart had stopped pounding, he looked ahead. The path (such as it was) continued downward, but not too steeply. They were sheltered by rocks, and further ahead, he could see trees growing again. "Let's go," he said. "We don't want to sleep here." He offered Hiroki a hand, and he made a face but accepted it and got up.

They were both tired by now, but feeling like they were almost there kept them going. After half an hour, they were into the wooded area, and after an hour or so of walking through there, they suddenly emerged from the trees and found themselves overlooking a large valley.

"Wow," Hiroki said, stopping to admire the view. The whole valley was lush and green, all the more striking after the dark mountains they'd been hiking through.

"It's not the kind of place I'd think a dragon would live," Ryo commented absently.

"Don't ruin the mood," Hiroki grumbled.

Ryo laughed, even though the thought scared him a little too. "We should be able to get into the valley before sunset," he said. "Let's sleep there and we can look for the dragon tomorrow."

It was almost dark when they reached the foot of the mountain, so they looked for a place to sleep. There were caves there that would probably keep them safe from the dragon, but who knew what else was hiding in there? In the end, they found a small grove of trees and settled down there. It was much warmer here, and they were tired, so despite the fear of the dragon, Ryo slept soundly. He woke up in the morning feeling refreshed and surprisingly ready to face the day.

Hiroki was already awake, and looking rather less happy. "So," he said, tapping his fingers nervously on the hilt of his sword. "It's dragon day."

"Assuming we find him today," Ryo said. Now that the sun was up, he could see how big this valley was. If they were to walk all the way across, it would probably take the better part of a day. Sho's map said the dragon was somewhere in the western part of the valley, but that was still a lot of area, and there was no telling if that was accurate. They'd just have to walk in that direction and be prepared for whatever they found.

"It's okay if we don't find him today," Hiroki muttered as they ate a quick breakfast. He was eating mechanically, like he knew he had to but wasn't enjoying it a bit.

"Come on," Ryo prodded, trying to lighten the mood a little. "Don't you want to get it over with already?"

Hiroki smiled thinly at that and Ryo felt kind of guilty. He liked messing around with Hiroki, but it wasn't fun and games right now. He looked really scared.

"Hiroki, umm..." Ryo started, not sure how to put this. "Are you sure you want to do this? You can stay here and I'll go ahead."

"No way," Hiroki answered immediately. He didn't look any less scared, but he had his stubborn face on now. "I came this far. I'm not going to stop. Besides," he added, looking around nervously, "who knows what kind of scary things there are around here? I'll stick with you."

Ryo laughed. "That's just like you," he mocked fondly. Hiroki gave him a weary smile, dusting the crumbs off his hands as he began to pack up their camp. He still looked terrified, but Ryo did appreciate his determination to go along, even if it was only because going up against a dragon was preferable to facing unknown things by himself.

It didn't take them long to get their things together and soon they were on their way, Ryo absently running his fingers along the hilt of his sword as he walked. Nervousness built up in his stomach with each step he took closer to the western side of the valley. Hiroki walked right beside him, maybe a little too close, but Ryo didn't say anything, just glanced over at him occasionally to make sure he wasn't freaking out too much. 

By the time the sun was high in the sky, they were into the western part of the valley, but there was nothing in sight. Ryo frowned; this was where the dragon should be. If Sho's info was wrong, they had nothing else to go on.

As they continued, they spotted a large crevice of jagged rock in the side of the valley, a cave, bigger than the ones they'd seen before. Ryo moved closer, nervous excitement building in his stomach as he approached what he was sure had to be the dragon's lair. He wondered if he was in there right now. 

A huge gust of wind hit his back and the long grass around him bent in half. Ryo didn't think much of it until he realized it wasn't happening across the entire valley, not a branch on even the nearby trees moving. The wind was only in the area immediately surrounding where they were. 

"Ryo!" Hiroki shouted, and Ryo spun around quickly just as he heard a deafening roar and a huge dragon landed, shaking the earth around them. Sho had said Johnny was _small_ , which made Ryo wonder how big "normal" dragons were. He looked enormous, and mean too. Hiroki's hands were shaking as he held his sword out in front of him.

Ryo's sword was in his hand almost immediately, but he hesitated, trying to remember Sho's diagrams. It was hard to concentrate on anything else as the dragon gave another roar, but he did vaguely remember a sensitive spot on the side of the neck. That was the best he could come up with, and it was no good standing there blocking the dragon's cave, so Ryo attacked, circling around so as not to approach the dragon head on.

It was probably only through surprise that Ryo even managed to get close enough to slash at the dragon. As it was, he barely scraped his skin, his sword glancing easily off the scales. Clearly that hadn't been the sensitive spot. He wouldn't have expected such a huge creature to move quickly, but the dragon turned toward him surprisingly quickly and Ryo had to dodge out of the way.

He spotted Hiroki still standing, frozen, in front of the cave, and he yelled, "Come on, Hiroki!" That startled him out of his trance, but he still didn't seem to know what to do, awkwardly running back and forth, nowhere near Johnny.

Ryo didn't have time to focus on him, not with the dragon right in front of him. He darted in and out, hacking at whatever skin he could reach. Either Sho's information had been faulty or he wasn't hitting quite the right spots because nothing he did seemed to do any real damage. All it did was make Johnny angrier; he roared again, unnervingly close, and Ryo's whole body shook with the force of it.

He remembered vaguely that there was supposed to be a weak point by the base of the tail, and that seemed like a good one to go for since it would keep him away from the head. Sho hadn't been entirely clear about whether or not Johnny could breathe fire, but Ryo wasn't going to take a chance with that. He ran toward the tail, sword raised...and that's when Johnny whipped his tail around, catching Ryo full in the chest.

He was thrown a good distance away and he hit the ground hard. The dragon's sharp scales had cut him in a few places, but mostly he'd just had the wind thoroughly knocked out of him. He gasped for breath and struggled to focus on what was going on. If Johnny came after him now, he was in trouble.

That was when he saw Hiroki, yelling and running toward the dragon, wielding the ice magic stone in his hand. All the fear was gone from his posture, and Ryo knew it must be because of him. Hiroki was trying to protect him, and that thought made his heart twist in a strange way even as he desperately tried to catch his breath so he could get up and help.

It all happened so fast Ryo could hardly tell what happened, but one moment Hiroki was charging forward with his sword raised, and the next one of Johnny's front legs came up and the sharp claws raked down his body.

"Hiroki!" Ryo screamed. He was frozen in horror for a second, and in that moment, he saw something shining out of the corner of his eye, a medallion hanging on a red sash just outside Johnny's cave. "No!" he yelled, rebelling against the thought that Kato's vision was coming true. He jumped to his feet despite his body's protests and ran forward, not even thinking about what he was doing. Hiroki was lying right in front of the dragon and Ryo dropped his sword to scoop him into his arms, running a short distance away before his legs gave out on him beneath a small grove of trees that probably wouldn't provide any shelter if Johnny tried to come after them.

A little voice in the back of Ryo's brain was screaming at him that they were helpless and exposed, without even a sword, for all the good that had done him so far, but every other thought in his mind was focused on Hiroki. The dragon's claws had cut him from his chest to partway down his legs. Ryo couldn't tell how deep the cuts were, but there was blood everywhere and Hiroki was barely conscious, whimpering in pain. He tried to stop the flow of blood with his hands, but he didn't even know where to put them. It was everything Kato's vision had threatened, and Ryo felt panic rising in his throat as he realized just how bad this was. 

"You—you're okay," he stammered, his voice coming out thin and strange. "You'll be okay, just hang on." He didn't believe it, and he could see fear in Hiroki's eyes that meant he didn't either. "You have to be okay," he continued, barely aware of what he was saying. "You have to be. Please, Hiroki, you can't—you have to—don't leave me. I can't do this without you. You can't—please." He was babbling, the words running into each other in the rush to get them all out.

"You'll be okay. I'll get you help. Just hang on a little while and...please. Hiroki, I—I need you, so you have to hang on." Ryo had never felt so scared in his life, afraid that he'd gotten Hiroki killed, and the thought of facing life without him was so impossible that he just couldn't accept it. Hiroki had to survive, somehow. He _had_ to.

"There must be something," he continued. "Some magic. It'll be okay. Please, it's—I love you." He was dimly surprised to hear those words come out of his mouth, but it barely registered in the midst of the panic. "I love you. Please, Hiroki, don't die."

Hiroki looked shocked, barely managing a trembling smile that immediately turned into a grimace of pain. Ryo's eyes felt hot as he desperately tried to stop some of the worst bleeding, his hands covered in Hiroki's blood. He fumbled at his clothes, taking off his shirt, only his undershirt left, and tried to use that to put pressure on the worst of the wound, but soon that was soaked too.

"Ryo-chan," Hiroki whispered, voice weak. "...you too." He was breathing shallowly now, expression tight with pain, until he started to lose consciousness. Ryo's vision was blurred, his hands shaking against Hiroki's chest. He was only vaguely aware that his face was wet with tears.

Johnny roared loudly and Ryo turned around just in time to see six figures running onto the scene. A few seconds later, Johnny spread his wings and took off into the sky with one final roar.

"Hiroki, wake up," Ryo cried frantically, turning back to him only to find him barely breathing, his face pale and his forehead covered in sweat. "Hiroki!" He got no reaction, and then Hiroki's breathing stopped just as Ryo felt someone put their hand on his shoulder. 

"Move. I can help," said a deep voice. Ryo went limp, tears still streaming down his cheeks, completely lost. He barely registered the words and didn't resist as the person pulled Hiroki's body onto his lap; what more harm could anyone do?

A strange glow surrounded the man's hands as they smoothed over the gaping wounds on Hiroki's body. Ryo watched, fascinated and uncomprehending, as the ragged edges of flesh slowly fused back together. The blood was still there, and the tears in Hiroki's clothes, but the deep gashes faded away as though they'd never been there. This was real magic, the kind Ryo had never seen before and had trouble wrapping his head around. He could barely believe it.

After what seemed like a long time, Hiroki's eyes fluttered open. He seemed as confused as Ryo, looking up at the man (or whatever he was) who had saved him. "Am I...?" he asked, turning to look at Ryo and the others who had gathered around the three of them. "What happened?"

"You almost died," the man said. "But I was able to bring you back. You're fine now."

Hiroki looked down at his body, his eyes widening as he realized the wounds were entirely gone. "Wow," he said, putting a hand to his chest to feel for himself that he was okay, patting down to his stomach. "That's amazing."

The man opened his mouth to reply, but he didn't get a chance because suddenly Ryo broke out of his trance and moved toward Hiroki. He didn't know what he wanted to do except that he needed to see for himself that Hiroki was alive, really alive. He planted both hands on Hiroki's chest and felt his skin warm and his heart beating strongly. He really was alive, as though nothing had ever happened.

He must have still looked upset because Hiroki said gently, "I'm okay, Ryo-chan." He took hold of Ryo's wrists and moved his hands from his chest, holding onto them.

And then, so suddenly he surprised even himself, Ryo leaned in and kissed Hiroki. He tensed for just a second before responding, letting go of Ryo's wrists so he could grab at his shirt and pull him even closer. It was a desperate, breathless sort of kiss, all of Ryo's intense, conflicted emotions pouring out into it. He didn't understand any of this right now, but he knew without any doubt that he wanted to kiss Hiroki, to feel him warm and alive and hold onto him and never let him go.

Ryo's hands, now free, moved into Hiroki's hair as he kept kissing him, not wanting to pull away. Hiroki made soft noise into the kiss and pulled Ryo even closer to him, like he didn't want any space between them at all.

"Uh," the man squeaked, looking incredibly uncomfortable. They ignored him, Ryo's hand cupping Hiroki's jaw so he could deepen their kiss, something he'd never felt when he'd kissed girls fluttering in his stomach from the mere press of their lips. Hiroki opened his mouth against Ryo's and Ryo went for it, his hands still shaking slightly from adrenaline. 

"Could you, uh, make out...not on my lap?" the healer said, sounding thoroughly traumatized as he tried to wriggle his way out from under their combined weight. 

The others started laughing, and that was what finally broke Ryo's trance. He pulled back and looked at Hiroki's flushed face, barely suppressing the urge to kiss him again. He belatedly realized what he'd just done in front of six perfect strangers and turned bright red, reluctantly turning towards them. 

"Thank you." The tall man quickly jumped away from them, equally (if not more) red and embarrassed than Ryo was. Hiroki seemed to be too busy smiling, still absently touching his skin where the dragon's claws had cut him, like he couldn't quite believe he was okay. Ryo, mortified as he was, didn't deny Hiroki when he reached out and grabbed his hand. 

"Who are you?" one of them asked, sounding slightly wary. 

Ryo tried to form an answer. "Uh, Ryo, we, uhm, dragon trying to..." He gestured a bit, like that would explain the situation.

"I'm Hiroki." 

"We got that much, with the yelling earlier," one of them said sarcastically, and was promptly smacked upside the head by the hairy...Ryo wasn't quite sure what he was, standing next to him.

"Be nice, Yoko," he said."

"What?! It's true, you gorilla," Yoko complained loudly, earning himself another smack. "Ow! Stop that!" 

Hiroki laughed, and Ryo shot him a funny look; he must still be giddy, coming back to life and all.

"So, Ryo and Hiroki. What brings you out here?" a small, friendly looking creature asked him. He was sort of adorable, short and delicate, with a sweet smile and, when Ryo looked a little more carefully, pointy ears.

"We're on a quest to slay that dragon," he answered.

"Are you a fairy?" Hiroki asked all of a sudden. He didn't really fit Ryo's mental image of a fairy, but there was something about him that invited the comparison, like an unseen aura.

Several of the others snickered. "Why does everyone think that?" the small guy demanded, frowning cutely.

"You hit a sore spot," joked the sarcastic one, Yoko.

"I'm an elf," the not-fairy said. "Distant cousins of the fairies, but definitely not the same." His annoyed expression quickly evaporated into a smile. "But I guess humans like you wouldn't know much about fairies or elves, would you? Don't worry about it. You can call me Yasu!"

"Nice to meet you," Hiroki said politely. "I'm sorry about the fairy thing. Is that an insult?"

"It's not!" jumped in the healer.

"This guy here really is a fairy," said...was he really a gorilla? Ryo had never seen one outside of a sketch in a book, but he was big and covered in dark hair, with long arms like the animals in the pictures. But gorillas couldn't talk, could they?

"But not in the same way that you guys are," Yoko chimed in.

"We're not—" Ryo started, but it was a bit silly to protest when Hiroki was still holding onto his hand, wasn't it? The reality of the situation was starting to sink in and Ryo wasn't sure how to feel about it.

Besides bringing back his shame, the adrenaline wearing off made Ryo suddenly aware of the pain he felt with every breath. In his worry about Hiroki, he hadn't even thought about what being thrown by the dragon had done to him. He flinched, letting go of Hiroki's hand so he could touch his chest, feeling for broken ribs.

Hiroki turned to look at him and frowned deeply. "You're hurt, Ryo-chan! Why didn't you say anything?"

"I, uhh, didn't notice," Ryo admitted sheepishly.

The fairy (who looked even less like Ryo's mental image of a fairy, but that was beside the point right now) frowned. "Let me see." 

"Tacchon, don't overdo it," Yasu said warningly. Tacchon (if that was his name) placed his hands lightly over Ryo's chest and they glowed for a few moments before sweat appeared on his brow and he had to stop. The feeling was surreal, like something was washing over him, and the pain lessened a little.

"I can only do so much at one time," Tacchon said apologetically. He was visibly worn out from the effort. Ryo nodded. He was still in pain, but it was a lot better than before. It must have taken a lot to bring Hiroki back from the brink of death like that. He would be all right without magical help.

He looked at the rest of the group. A rather human-looking person stood out among them, but something felt off, like he wasn't quite what he appeared to be. It seemed Ryo was getting better at noticing such things. A smaller man with long hair and piercing eyes was staring at them, but he didn't say anything. They were a strange group, but he was getting more used to that too.

"How did you..." he started, not knowing how or exactly what to ask. "Why did you save us?"

The small man, who, once Ryo took a closer look at him, didn't look human either, finally spoke up, his voice a rich timbre. "We've been planning to slay that dragon for a while now," he explained, "but it hasn't happened yet. We were passing through when we heard him roaring." 

"We didn't think there would be two humans dumb enough to take on a dragon with two steel sticks and a rock though," Yoko said, looking amused. Ryo frowned at that, less because he was insulted than because it reminded him of what had happened. They were okay now, but the thought of what would have happened if the others hadn't found them scared him. 

"Thank you," Hiroki said, sincerely. "I owe you my life."

"You're welcome," said the gorilla.

The other six looked at each other. Yasu and the smaller creature seemed to be having some sort of conversation with their eyes. If they were arguing, then it seemed like Yasu won because he beamed right before the other frowned. "You can stay with us, until you're fully healed," he said grudgingly.

"Subaru," Yasu said, a slight warning tone to his voice. 

Subaru turned back to them. "However long you need," he amended reluctantly. Ryo didn't want to intrude, but neither he nor Hiroki had anywhere else to go, and in their condition right now, it would be just asking for trouble to try and find somewhere on their own. Besides, he didn't want to be anywhere near that dragon now.

"Let's get going," Yoko said. "Maru?" He turned to look at the person who didn't look quite human. That was explained as he suddenly started to stretch out, growing larger and larger and then sprouting wings. He looked like some sort of mutant gigantic bird, but the others seemed perfectly comfortable with this new form. They started to climb onto his back one at a time. Tacchon carefully pulled Hiroki to his feet and Yasu helped Ryo up onto Maru's back, moving slowly so as not to jostle his ribs too much.

"Hold on," Yasu told Ryo, and then they took off. The bird that was Maru flew surprisingly smoothly, almost as if there was some kind of magic to his flight beyond the beating of his huge wings. Ryo was a little worried about the dragon coming after them, but the skies were clear. He looked down at the green valley spread out below them. They passed a grove of what looked like fruit trees, and a waterfall that led to a rambling brook. It looked like a kind of paradise, or would have if Ryo hadn't known about the dragon living there.

"It's beautiful," Hiroki murmured, clearly having similar thoughts.

"Thank you," Yasu said, as though it was a compliment to him. "We think so too."

They flew to the north end of the valley, a long way away from the dragon (to Ryo's great relief). The area seemed deserted, but when Maru landed, Ryo saw a house that had been hidden by the trees. It was every bit as strange as the house Sho and the others lived in, but in a different way, one sprawling story instead of several, and painted in a rainbow of bright colors. Ryo didn't really understand how, but it seemed to fit into the surroundings, the colors on the house bringing out the green of the trees and the red of the fruits on them and the deep blue of the creek running behind it.

They climbed off Maru's back, Ryo stumbling a little when his legs didn't quite want to hold him. Hiroki caught him and gave him a worried look, but Ryo pulled away. "I'm fine," he said.

Maru changed back as soon as they were all on the ground, and turned to them with a smile. "Come on inside," he said. "We'll get you something to eat and introduce you properly to everyone."

They all sat down in the living room, Ryo sinking into the soft couch with a sigh of relief. Yasu and Tacchon disappeared into the kitchen and came back with tea and an assortment of finger foods. Ryo wasn't really sure what any of them were, but he found he was starving and he ate hungrily.

"Okay, time for introductions," said the gorilla once everyone was seated. "You can call me Hina," he started.

"Hina?" Hiroki echoed. It seemed a strange name for someone like him.

"His real name is Murakami," Yoko explained, "but we thought someone as cute as him had to be called Hina." He smiled as he said it, but Ryo couldn't tell if he was joking or not.

"This is Yoko," Hina said, jabbing a large black finger in his direction. "He's the resident smart ass ogre." 

"Ogre?" Ryo asked curiously. Now that he got a closer look, Yoko was rather bulky and tall, but he looked nothing like the pictures of ogres that were in his books. 

"Aren't ogres supposed to be bumbling, kind of stupid creatures?" Hiroki whispered to Ryo. Subaru cackled; Hiroki wasn't as good at whispering as he thought he was. 

Yoko's smile disappeared. "I really hate that stereotype."

"Oh god, here we go," Tacchon said, removing himself from the room. 

"Just because that stupid sage wrote that stupid book--" Hina's large palm came up and covered Yoko's mouth. Yoko flailed his arms and shoved him away. Ryo shot Hiroki a look. He'd been thinking the same thing about ogres, but that probably wasn't something one should say when their host was right there. 

"I didn't mean anything by it," Hiroki said, throwing his hands up in an apologetic gesture, but Yoko seemed like he was ready to rant, opening his mouth to say something. Yasu, thankfully stepped in. 

"Obviously they don't know much about non-humans," Yasu said diplomatically. "They have no way of knowing if what they read in books is right or not. Cut them some slack.

Yoko still looked grumpy, folding his arms across his chest. "You're pretty good at pushing people's buttons," he grumbled. Hiroki sheepishly apologized again. 

"This is Subaru," Yasu continued, ignoring Yoko's pouting. "He's a dwarf."

"You're one to talk," Subaru muttered. Ryo thought he detected a hint of amusement in his tone, like this was a joke he made often.

"The fairy is Tacchon..." Yasu started, but was interrupted. 

"Tacchon is a nickname," the fairy in question said, reappearing all of a sudden. "You can call me Ohkura." 

"Maru, as you might have guessed, is a shapeshifter," Yasu finished, smiling. "We're an eclectic bunch, but we have fun together."

"It's nice to meet all of you," Hiroki said, and Ryo echoed the sentiment. "You'll have to forgive us if we say anything stupid," he added. "Where we live, there are only humans, so it's only since we set out on this quest that we've come to meet so many different kinds of people."

"Where do you come from anyway?" Yoko asked, apparently recovered from his bad mood.

"A kingdom called Osaka," Hiroki answered but didn't elaborate further. It was hard not to trust these people after they'd rescued them, but for all Ryo knew, ogres or dwarves or whoever might secretly eat princes for breakfast. It was safer not to volunteer the information that Ryo was royalty.

The couch he was sitting on was soft and now that Ryo was finished eating, he found himself getting drowsy. It had been an incredibly draining day and even though it was still early, he wanted nothing more than to sleep. Hiroki and the others were doing most of the talking, so it was easy to tune out the conversation. Ryo's eyes started to drift closed and the last thing he remembered was Hina saying, "You'll regret letting Yasu touch your clothes."

 

Ryo woke up to the sun shining through the window, so he must have slept through the entire night. He was still half-sitting, half-lying on the couch, but someone had spread a blanket over him. He could hear voices and he tried to move so he could see what was going on, but his entire body protested. He was sore all over, making him wonder how much worse it would've been if Ohkura hadn't healed him a little the day before. At least he could breathe without too much pain.

"Oh, you're awake!" he heard Yasu say. Ryo didn't want to try turning around, so he waited until Yasu came around to the front of the couch along with Hiroki. "How are you feeling?"

"Like I got smacked in the chest by a dragon's tail," Ryo muttered. Talking kind of hurt, and he made a face.

"How long does Ohkura have to wait before he can heal someone else?" Hiroki asked, looking upset.

"He can probably do something right now," Yasu said, "even if he can't heal you completely. I'll go ask him."

Hiroki stayed, and he looked so worried that Ryo grumbled, "Stop. It's not that bad." After a beat, he added, more quietly, "Not like you were."

Hiroki smiled ruefully, kneeling beside the couch. "It was stupid of me to go charging in like that, huh? But I saw you go flying and I couldn't let him hurt you. I was hoping that stone Sho gave us would do the trick, but it didn't even make my hand cold."

"It was stupid," Ryo agreed gruffly. Hiroki looked sheepish. "It seems like none of the information was accurate," he added, frustrated. They'd gone in relatively confident thanks to all the information Sho had given them, but it hadn't done them any good. They were back at square one, it seemed. 

"He did say that it was all rumors," Hiroki pointed out. "He had no way of knowing.

"I..." Ryo started, then paused, looking Hiroki over once more. "I'm glad you're okay." Hiroki smiled. That was when Ryo noticed the bright scraps of cloth over the front of his plain white shirt, where there had been tears and blood stains yesterday. There were so many different patterns and textures, some shiny and others matte, while there was one bright patch of cloth that literally _sparkled_ , reflecting the sunlight. Ryo had never seen anything quite as...flashy as this, on Hiroki or anyone else. 

Hiroki laughed when he noticed where Ryo was looking. "Yasu fixed it for me while we slept," he explained, running a hand absently over the brightest pink color. "Apparently this is his style." It was...special, Ryo thought, but there was no way to put that diplomatically, so he said nothing. 

"Ryo-chan," Hiroki continued, looking at him softly.

For some reason Ryo found his heart beating faster, the urge to kiss Hiroki again popping up. "Yeah?" he asked, voice low. Hiroki leaned in closer, brushing his hand over Ryo's chest and the scabs from where the dragon's scales had shallowly cut him. Hiroki was frowning again, so Ryo did the only thing that seemed right at the time and pulled him down by the back of his neck so he could kiss him. Hiroki seemed surprised, but he didn't resist at all. 

"Oh god," Ohkura said a second later, sounding incredibly uncomfortable. "I...I'll come back." 

He turned to leave, but Hiroki pulled back quickly and said, "Wait. Could you look at his wounds?"

Ohkura looked like he wanted to flee, but he slowly walked over, kneeling next to Hiroki. "I'm not sure how much I can do now," he said as he brought his hand up to Ryo's chest, "but I'll try." His hand glowed and Ryo felt that strange sensation again, of warmth flowing over him like water. The pain lessened, and he saw the cuts around Ohkura's hand fade away.

Then Ohkura pulled his hand away abruptly, breathing hard like he'd been running. "That's not everything," he said, "but you should feel better. I'll be able to do more tomorrow."

"Thank you," Ryo said. He did feel better; he could breathe easily, and while he was still sore, it was nothing like when he'd woken up.

"I'm going to go now," Ohkura said awkwardly, and hurried out of the room.

The second he was gone, Hiroki burst out laughing. "I feel kind of bad, but that was hilarious."

"Mmm," Ryo agreed without much conviction. It was funny, but now he felt weird again.

Yesterday, when he'd thought Hiroki was going to die, everything had been so clear. It was like everything had fallen into place all at once and he'd realized that it wasn't just that he didn't want any of those girls his parents had found for him; he already had someone he wanted, and that was Hiroki.

But now that things were less intense, it was all too easy to question his feelings. Hadn't that just been the shock and fear of losing Hiroki that had made him say those words, and kiss Hiroki after? Was he really in love with his best friend, with weak, whiny, bratty Hiroki? And even if he was, could he be? He might be willing to dress as one, but Hiroki wasn't a girl who could sit by Ryo's side as he ruled over Osaka.

"Ryo-chan?" Hiroki asked when he was silent for too long.

Ryo opened his mouth to say something, but he didn't even know where to start with all these feelings. Hiroki was looking at him expectantly, and Ryo wondered for the first time what he thought of all this, what his feelings were Did he love Ryo? He hadn't shown any signs of those kind of feelings before.

"It's nothing," he said. He didn't meet Hiroki's eyes as he tried to sit up on the couch and put some distance between them. He needed some time to think. 

"It doesn't seem like nothing," Hiroki responded, putting a hand on Ryo's shoulder. Ryo tensed up unconsciously at the contact. Hiroki pulled back and when Ryo turned around to look at him, the hurt that he barely caught flashing across his face was quickly replaced with a smile. He knew when Hiroki wasn't being genuine, and something twisted in his gut at he expression. "You can talk to me," Hiroki said softly. "We're friends, right?"

"I just...need to think," Ryo answered. They were just friends, right? But then, why did he not like the way that sounded? Even if he was crazy and wanted to be more than that, how could they be? He was a prince and had responsibilities, and he would be king one day. For some reason, he felt like even though they'd come this far on this quest, he still wasn't any closer to figuring out what he should do. What was the point of a quest like this if it only left him feeling more confused than when he started?

Ryo was kind of relieved when Yasu, Maru and Hina came into the room. "How are you feeling, Ryo?" Hina asked.

Even though Ryo had met him the day before, it wasn't until today when his mind was clearer that he really registered the strangeness of Hina. A talking gorilla in the middle of all these humanoid creatures. The strangest part was how utterly normal it seemed to them, like they didn't even notice, let alone care, that one of their number was a talking animal. "Uhh, fine," he mumbled, when he realized the others were still looking at him expectantly. "Better."

"Good," Hina said, and Yasu and Maru smiled. (Hina might have been smiling too, but Ryo wasn't really sure what constituted a smile on a gorilla.)

"Let's just take it easy today," Yasu said. "You both need your rest, and Tacchon too."

"I just need food," Ohkura grumbled, coming into the room. He was still staying a safe distance away from Ryo and Hiroki, like he was afraid they might start kissing again even with everyone there. Ryo was torn between laughing at his discomfort and feeling horribly embarrassed himself.

They sat and talked and ate and talked some more and then ate some more. Ryo was quiet at first, but people kept asking him questions, and eventually he joined in the conversation. They were all easy to talk to, except Ohkura who wouldn't talk to him or Hiroki directly and Subaru, who mostly just sat there silently except for a comment here and there, mostly to make fun of one of his friends.

He had thought he would be bored sitting around, but the day flew by as he and Hiroki told about their quest and the others told them about themselves and their lives and their abilities. Elves were particularly agile, Ryo learned, and ogres were strong but not always, Yoko grudgingly admitted, especially smart. Healing was a rare talent even among fairies, just like talking was for gorillas. Shapeshifters were a species in their own right, but they usually kept to themselves, living in small groups. Dwarves, on the other hand, were social creatures who lived in large cities.

"And that's why I'm here," Subaru put in. His eyes met Ryo's and he smiled to show that he was joking before quickly looking away. He was shy, Ryo realized, just like him.

For the first time in a while, Ryo felt like he could relax and feel comfortable in a larger group. He found himself laughing more than he had in years and, from the huge smile on Hiroki's face and his animated gestures, he seemed to be enjoying himself as much as Ryo. They were listening intently to one of Yoko's stories involving Hina, who would grunt and swipe a hand at him if he got too insulting (or said something stupid). Dinner was simple but delicious, meat and vegetables spread out across the wooden table in their dining room. Ohkura seemed to be in his element, smiling the entire time and making content noises every time he put a morsel in his mouth. 

After dinner, Subaru brought out a musical instrument that he said was common among dwarfs. It was a stringed instrument and looked similar to some of what they played in court, but the sound was completely different, strong and crystal clear as it washed over them. Subaru sang along, and his voice was powerful for such a small person, deep and resonant to the point that Ryo wondered if there was a magical element to it. Ryo felt himself relaxing even more, stretching out on the floor with his back against the couch. 

"It's getting late," Hina said when Subaru finished, looking out the window. The sun had already started to sink down in the sky and it stained the sky a soft pink with huge fluffy orange and purple clouds floating overhead. It was one of the prettiest sunsets Ryo had ever seen, and not for the first time since they'd arrived, he thought this place was unnaturally beautiful. 

"There's an open room next to Tacchon's," Yasu explained. "We only have one extra room, but I imagine you don't mind sharing." He gave them a knowing look and Ryo shifted uncomfortably, trying not to look as embarrassed as he felt.

"That'll be fine," Hiroki answered for them. "Thank you."

"No need to thank us!" Yasu said cheerfully. "We're really happy to have you here. We don't get a lot of visitors, especially not people like you." Ryo didn't know what he meant by that, but he didn't ask. Despite sleeping so much the night before, he was tired again, and he just wanted to get to bed.

"Here you go," Yasu said, opening the door to the spare room. "Goodnight!"

Once they stepped inside, Ryo realized there was something else Yasu had neglected to mention. Not only was there only one room, but in that room was only one bed. It was a decent size, at least, and it wasn't like they'd have to sleep any closer together than when they'd shared their blankets on the road, but with his feelings as conflicted as they were after everything, the last thing Ryo wanted was to have to share a bed with Hiroki.

"I could sleep on the floor, I guess," Hiroki said, his tone suggesting that he really didn't want to and would probably whine endlessly about it afterward.

"It's okay," Ryo said brusquely. "There's plenty of room."

They got ready in silence, except for Hiroki stopping to laugh at what Yasu had done to his shirt, and got in bed. There was plenty of room, but Ryo still felt hyperaware of Hiroki lying next to him. It wasn't so much that he didn't trust Hiroki (aside from his tendency to cling to Ryo in his sleep); he didn't trust himself not to do anything he might regret later.

"Ryo-chan," Hiroki said softly. Ryo was lying with his back to Hiroki, and he wasn't sure he wanted to turn around. Hiroki sighed. "You do remember that you're the one who kissed _me_. You don't have to worry about me doing anything."

"I'm not," Ryo mumbled. It was easier to say it like this, when he didn't have to look at Hiroki. "I'm worried about me doing something."

Hiroki made an irritated sound. "Why shouldn't you do something? If you want to..."

"What if we regret it?" Ryo said, although he was really talking about himself. He didn't know what Hiroki was thinking or feeling, and that was unsettling, especially since he couldn't even figure out his own emotions. 

"What if we don't?" Hiroki snapped back. He didn't have an answer to that. Ryo still wasn't sure he could look him in the eyes, but his presence was affecting him. He wasn't close to Ryo, but for how warm he felt being in the same bed, he might has well have been pressed right up against him. 

Ryo slowly turned over, looking everywhere but at Hiroki's face. He honestly had no idea what he wanted right now, but it was hard to believe that this was the wrong thing to do, especially with Hiroki encouraging him. It still wasn't all clicking together for Ryo, but maybe just a little wouldn't hurt.

Ryo propped himself up on his elbow and, before he could lose his nerve, pressed a quick kiss to Hiroki's lips. He pulled back quickly, but his eyes flicked down to Hiroki's lips again. Only a few seconds passed before he leaned in again, lingering this time, and feeling a rush of butterflies in his stomach when Hiroki responded, their lips sliding together.

"Hiroki, I—" Ryo said when he pulled back for a breath. "I don't..." He couldn't figure out what he wanted to say, so he gave up and kissed Hiroki again. It was so much easier like that, just kissing and not thinking about anything but how it felt. It was a slow, relaxed sort of kiss, with none of that desperation of the day before. It felt like they could stay like that forever, lying on the bed, exploring each other's mouths as they got braver about it.

But as they continued, Ryo started to get nervous. Hiroki's hand was on his cheek and his tongue was sending shivers of pleasure through him and he didn't know if he'd be able to stop if this went on much longer. He didn't know if he _wanted_ to stop, but it seemed like he should. He wasn't ready for more.

His reluctance must have been obvious because it was Hiroki who pulled back with a sigh. His hand lingered on Ryo's cheek for a little longer before he pulled it away too. "Let's just sleep," he said. Ryo didn't like the tone of his voice, not quite angry, but obviously not pleased with how things were going.

"Wait, umm, I..." Ryo started. He felt like he should apologize, or at least explain, but he wasn't sure how. He was the one who'd started this, so why was he feeling so unsure now?

Hiroki looked away, biting his lip, making Ryo feel guilty. "I, umm..." he said, "I'm just going to say this and be clear about it." He looked up at Ryo now, meeting his eyes steadily. He looked so mature and serious, so unlike the Hiroki Ryo was used to. "Maybe you didn't realize, because you're..." He laughed. "You're kind of stupid about these things. But I like you. Love you."

"I..." Ryo felt a rush of something—happiness maybe?—course through him at Hiroki's words, but it couldn't wash away the voice in the back of his head telling him this couldn't work. He opened his mouth again, then shut it. He wondered if Hiroki could feel how fast his heart was beating.

"I didn't say that because I wanted an answer right now," Hiroki said quickly, "but I wanted you to know."

Even if he had wanted an answer, Ryo didn't know if he could give him one now. It was complicated, much too complicated to figure out in a day. That made him wonder how long Hiroki had been thinking about this, to have his feelings be so clear. "How long?" he asked hesitantly. He'd grown up with Hiroki, and he had thought he knew everything about him. How could he have missed something like this? He hadn't even had a clue as to his feelings.

Hiroki avoided his gaze, laughingly shortly and staring at something invisible behind Ryo's shoulder. "Since I was...fifteen, sixteen? Somewhere around there," he admitted. "I just didn't really acknowledge it."

There was an inexplicable pain in Ryo's chest. He had always that thought he could read Hiroki like a book, that they understood each other; to learn that he hadn't noticed something this important for so long was a little shocking.

"Hiroki, it's...I mean..." Ryo stammered. He didn't know what to say. Did he love Hiroki? He definitely cared about him, and the thought of losing him scared him but...was that the same kind of love that Hiroki was confessing? Ryo bit his lip, thinking. Kissing Hiroki felt good—right, somehow—but how could he be sure? It all seemed so sudden. This wasn't like one of those romantic stories where all it took was a kiss for the couple to realize they were fated to be together. Why couldn't Matchy's prophecy have told him that, so that he'd know what was the right thing to do now?

"Figure it out," Hiroki said quietly. He gave a short laugh. "Soon, preferably. But I can wait a little longer. For now, let's sleep."

"Goodnight," Ryo said, rolling over so his back was to Hiroki again.

Hiroki yawned noisily. "Goodnight."

Ryo waited until Hiroki's breathing had evened out and he was most likely asleep before he whispered, "I'm sorry."

 

As expected, Ryo woke up in the morning with Hiroki's arm around him and his face smushed into Ryo's shoulder. It wasn't anything new, after all the nights they'd spent together on this trip, but it felt different now because things had changed between them. Instead of feeling mildly annoyed, Ryo felt...confused, mostly. Part of him wanted to stay just like that and part of him wanted to get out of bed right away so he wouldn't have to think about what being so close to Hiroki did to him.

And it did do something to him; there was no question about that. He felt warm in a way that couldn't be blamed on the blankets and the heat of Hiroki's body, something in between the peaceful, comfortable warmth of lying under blankets on a cold day and the heady flush that came with kissing Hiroki. Confusing or not, it was a nice feeling, one he didn't want to let go of. Was that love, he wondered, when something that should have irritated you felt good instead?

Hiroki twitched and then rolled over with a groan, slowly starting to wake up. Once Hiroki's presence was gone, Ryo found he missed the warmth. He almost shifted closer but stopped himself. He settled for poking Hiroki until he sat up and grumbled. 

"Morning," Ryo said, his eyes stuck on Hiroki's disheveled hair and the way his shirt rode up when he stretched. 

"Morning," Hiroki mumbled through a yawn, still stretching out his arms. Ryo had seen the same thing many times before, but he hadn't really paid attention to it before now. He squashed the urge to reach out and touch Hiroki, instead jumping up from the bed and beginning to get dressed. He wasn't sure what they were going to do today but at least Ohkura might be able to heal him a little more. His chest was still sore, even if it was much better than yesterday. 

When they were both dressed, they left the room and found the others all up and about already. "Oh, good, you're up," Hina said when he saw them. "We've been waiting for you for breakfast and Tatsu was almost ready to kill someone." Ryo wasn't sure who Tatsu was, but he figured it out when he saw Ohkura giving him and Hiroki an extremely disgruntled look.

"Come, sit down," Maru said, waving them over. They hurried to sit down and the others joined them, immediately digging in. The food was delicious and Ryo ate hungrily, forgetting about everything for a little while.

"We're going to the market in town," Yasu was saying when he tuned into the conversation again. "It's a little ways, but with Maru it doesn't take long. Would either of you like to come along?"

"Are you sure they're up for it?" Hina put in. "They were badly hurt."

"He's not," Ohkura said, pointing at Ryo. Then he dropped his hand as though realizing that hadn't been particularly polite and addressed Ryo directly. "Sorry, but I don't think I can heal you completely yet, and you shouldn't travel with your injuries."

"But I'm okay, right?" Hiroki asked. He did seem okay, which was kind of unfair considering that he was the one who had almost died.

Ohkura shrugged. "Yeah, if you're not too tired."

Hiroki shook his head, looking exciting at the prospect of exploring a new town. "Okay," Hina said, "then Yasu, Maru and Hiroki will go into town. Tatsu, you should rest too, so you can stay here with Ryo while Subaru and Yoko and I go see Nagase."

"Fine," Ohkura grudgingly agreed. 

Ryo nodded, even though he felt awkward about being alone with just Ohkura, especially after all that had happened. He was embarrassed just thinking about it. He went back to eating his breakfast quietly, but Hiroki seemed to be extra happy this morning, talking excitedly with Yasu and Maru. Ohkura was eyeing the last piece of sausage on his plate and Ryo paused for a second before he pushed the plate towards him. He might as well try to get on Ohkura's good side, and he wasn't hungry anymore anyway. Ohkura looked surprised for a second before he beamed at Ryo and shoved the entire thing in his mouth, mumbling "thank you" while he mouth was full. 

There others headed out soon after, leaving Ohkura and Ryo alone at the table. "So..." Ohkura said, like he was trying to start a conversation but didn't really know what to talk about.

Ryo fidgeted. "So. Yeah," he added. He couldn't do much better.

A few moments of silence passed before Ohkura stood up and took his plate into the kitchen. Ryo followed him a moment later, and found a large pile of plates and glasses in the sink and on the counter. Ryo frowned, memories of his time with Kato and the others and having to work long hours for little pay all too fresh. Ohkura heaved a martyred sigh and stood in front of the sink. Ryo really didn't want to do dishes, but he felt a little bad leaving Ohkura to finish all of these by himself. Reluctantly, he rolled up his sleeves and joined Ohkura at the sink.

"You don't have to," Ohkura said, his tone making it clear that he very much wanted Ryo's help.

"It's okay," Ryo said, picking up a plate and starting to wash it. "I owe you guys a lot."

Ohkura made a vague acknowledging sound, since it wouldn't be very polite to agree, and started scrubbing a pot. They washed in silence for a while before Ohkura tried again, "So, how long have you been on this quest for?"

"About...six weeks," Ryo said. It was hard to believe it had only been that long. It felt like months since he'd left home, if not years. So much had happened in those weeks.

"Why did you decide to do it?" Ohkura asked. "Questing sounds like hard work, and dangerous."

Ryo shrugged, trying to think of the best explanation. "I wanted to get out and experience the world," he said. Then he gave a short laugh and added, "And I wanted to get away from everything for a while."

"Going out and almost getting killed by dragons is your idea of getting away?" Ohkura asked, bemused.

Ryo had to laugh at that. "That wasn't really part of the plan. But I wanted to get away from...duty, you know, and expectations. That kind of thing."

"Ah." Ohkura seemed to consider for a minute before continuing, "I think that's why most of us are here."

"Really?" That surprised Ryo, but then, maybe it made sense that such a strange assortment of creatures had to have left their own people and gathered here for some reason. And maybe it explained why they didn't fit what he'd heard about fairies and elves and ogres and the like.

"Not fitting in, not being accepted for who we are, or knowing that what was expected of us wasn't what we wanted for ourselves...that's pretty much why we're all here," Ohkura said. Ryo understood that; he had felt trapped at home. Before, he hadn't known what he wanted to do, and he still didn't. In fact, he was even more confused because of Hiroki.

"Once you finish this quest, are you going to go right back home?" Ohkura asked casually.

Ryo paused, then frowned. Now that that they were finished, he felt better. "I don't know, maybe. I think so," he said. Before this would have been an obvious answer, but suddenly, he wasn't sure.

"Maybe?" Ohkura asked, looking at him funny. 

"It's complicated," Ryo mumbled, avoiding looking directly at him.

"Is it because you and Hiroki are...you know?" Ohkura gestured awkwardly.

"We're not anything!" Ryo burst out, surprising both himself and Ohkura. He probably should have left it at that, but this was his first chance to talk to anyone but Hiroki about what was happening and he couldn't hold it in. "We're not...I mean, we haven't...we were just friends, or I thought we were, and then he almost died and all of a sudden everything was different and now I don't know what we are. And even if we are...whatever, I don't know what'll happen if we go home."

Ohkura was scrubbing very intently at a most likely imaginary spot on the pot, and he didn't give any sign he had heard. Ryo sighed. "I'm just going to talk," he said. "You can pretend not to hear me if you want." Ohkura didn't object, so he took that as permission to continue. It felt a bit silly, but he thought maybe it would feel better, just to say it.

"At home, I'm supposed to...have a lot of power at some point in the future. A lot of responsibility. I spent my whole life preparing for that and I never really thought about if I wanted it because I didn't have a choice. But now that it's getting closer, it's gotten...scary. So I left, because I didn't want to deal with it, but I don't know if that's because it's really not what I want or just because I'm scared."

"Hmm." Apparently Ohkura was paying attention after all, even if that didn't tell Ryo anything about what he thought of all this.

"And about Hiroki..." Ryo continued, a little more slowly, not sure whether he wanted to say this or not. "My parents want me to get married. Insist I get married, actually. I'm supposed to have kids, carry on the family line, that kind of thing. And..." He laughed without humor. "Guys can't marry other guys where I live anyway. So Hiroki's not an option. That's why I never even looked at him like that, maybe."

"Ah," Ohkura said after a while, rinsing off the pot before handing it to Ryo to dry.

"Maybe I want him to be an option." Ryo frowned, trying to sort out his conflicting feelings. "But my parents...I don't know. Since it's only me and my sister, that responsibility is something that only I can do."

Ohkura didn't say anything right away, but Ryo didn't expect anything. It was nice to at least talk to someone about this.

"Would you be happy if you went back and gave up Hir—whatever?" Ohkura asked, frowning at himself, and avoiding looking directly at Ryo. Ryo looked up in surprise, he hadn't expected a response out of Ohkura let alone a question that would continue the conversation. Ohkura it seemed didn't like awkward conversations just as much as Ryo.

"I don't know," Ryo said honestly. Did he even have something with Hiroki to "give up?" He felt something, but he didn't know what it was. But Hiroki liked him...loved him, he'd said. If they went back, they'd both have to forget about all of this, whatever it was, and get married. That was the only option, right? He couldn't not go home.

"I guess you'll have to decide what you think is more important," Ohkura said, turning off the faucet and putting away the last of the dishes.

Ohkura walked away like there was nothing more to say, leaving Ryo standing in front of the sink, lost in thought. What was more important? His whole life had been about getting ready to be king; how could anything be more important than that? But then, he'd never wanted being king the way he wanted Hiroki. Because, as much as it scared him to admit it even to himself, he did want Hiroki, badly. Did he want him enough to give up everything?

His mind still racing with all those thoughts, Ryo dried his hands and left the kitchen. Ohkura was standing in the living room, looking like he didn't quite know what to do with himself. "Hey, umm..." he started when Ryo came into the room. Ryo braced himself for more awkwardness, but instead he said, "I can try to heal you some more, if you want. I'm still kind of tired, but I can probably do some."

"Thanks," Ryo said. He sat down on the couch, and Ohkura came and kneeled in front of him.

"I'm usually a lot better than this," Ohkura said as he placed a hand on Ryo's chest. "That was the first time I ever brought someone back from the brink of death and I didn't realize it would take that much out of me."

"It's okay," Ryo hurried to say. "The important part is that you saved Hiroki. And I'm really mostly fine now." He felt that now-familiar warmth as Ohkura's hand on his chest glowed and the remaining pain lessened and almost disappeared. "Thanks," he said again.

"No problem." Ohkura took his hand away, giving a small smile. "It's kind of nice, being able to do something with this power besides heal little cuts and stuff."

"It's amazing that you can do that at all," Ryo said. "If it wasn't for you, Hiroki would've died."

Ohkura smiled at him, looking pleased. "It's rare where I'm from, healing abilities, and...part of the reason why I left home," he admitted after a moment. "I guess what I am trying to say is, the guys and I, we can understand your problem, kind of. Well, not...the liking guys part." Ohkura laughed and Ryo made a face at him.

"Yasu would be better to talk to than me about that," Ohkura added before Ryo could open his mouth to deny it.

"I don't like...guys." Ryo said. Which was true, kind of. He had never been attracted to guys before, ever. Maybe that meant it was just Hiroki? Ryo didn't know if that was comforting or not. It didn't make much difference if he liked guys in general or just Hiroki, not now.

Ohkura made a noncommittal noise, not bothering to mock him further. He stood up and stretched. Then he groaned, a troubled look spreading over his face. "I'm on cooking duty tonight..." he said, looking unhappy about it.

"You have to make dinner?" Ryo asked. There were two more mouths to feed now that he and Hiroki had come along, so cooking was probably a lot of work. "Do you need help?" he offered. He hoped that Ohkura had some sort of magic ability that would get it done relatively quickly, but it didn't seem likely given how eagerly Ohkura accepted his offer of help and led him out the back door.

"We just need to get some vegetables. Avoid the mushrooms; Subaru's scared of them." Ohkura said, handing him a basket and pointing down a row of crops that looked sort of like corn. Ryo had never cooked before but he was used to working by now; it couldn't be that hard, right?

Half an hour later, Ryo was questioning that thought. It turned out that feeding eight people (or at least these eight people) required a whole lot of vegetables. His back hurt from bending down to pick them by the time they were done, and he didn't think most of it was from his injuries since Ohkura had largely healed them by now. No wonder Ohkura had wanted his help.

Once they were done picking vegetables, they returned to the kitchen and started to cut them. Ryo wasn't particularly quick at it and the resulting chopped veggies were all uneven, but he managed to help, at least. Ohkura seemed to be warming up to him now, probably grateful for the help. "Nice," he commented with a bit of a smile.

"What are we making?" Ryo asked. He didn't even recognize some of the vegetables they were working with, so he had no idea what to expect.

"It's a sort of...curry-like thing," Ohkura said. "My dad's recipe."

"Oh." It was the first time Ohkura or any of the others had mentioned their families. Ryo was curious what sort of families fairies (and dwarves and elves and...talking gorillas) had, but he didn't want to pry, so he didn't ask anything.

Ohkura smiled a little, noticing Ryo's hesitation. "It's okay," he said quietly, focused on the root vegetable in his hand. "None of us are on bad terms with our families or anything. We just like living here better."

"They're okay with it?" Ryo asked.

"Well, it took some convincing, but parents do normally want their children to be happy," Ohkura answered. He was boiling some soup stock and slowly adding the denser vegetables to it. Ryo watched as Ohkura he stirred the large pot and tasted the soup before adding some fragrant spices that Ryo wasn't familiar with.

"Ah. I suppose," Ryo said. He knew his parents loved him, but would they really be okay with it if he didn't become king? Women didn't rule in Osaka; if he didn't go back, then it would be the end of his family's reign. No matter how much they loved him, he wondered if they would be able to forgive him for not taking the throne.

"Can you wash the rice?" Ohkura asked. He'd started cutting a slab of meat into large cubes. Ryo looked around the kitchen, grabbing a bowl off the counter, and then tried to find the bag of rice. "Sorry, it's in the cupboard over there," Ohkura said when he noticed Ryo was lost.

Ryo hadn't cooked before, but he found it kind of relaxing, lightly covering the rice with water and washing it until the water ran mostly clear. "The water should cover the rice just a little bit," Ohkura instructed. It seemed like a lot of work, cooking for all these people. Ryo wondered how the food would taste; it smelled pretty good already, but not quite like anything he was used to.

Once the rice was set aside to soak and the main dish was simmering on the stove, they went back out to the living room. "So, umm, you want me to show you around?" Ohkura asked. "Hiroki already got the tour while you were sleeping yesterday."

"Sure," Ryo agreed. He'd seen the house and the vegetable garden, but he was curious about the rest of this place.

They went outside and walked slowly around, Ohkura explaining as they went. "This is Yasu's," he said, indicating a patch of brightly-colored flowers next to the vegetable garden. Somehow Ryo wasn't surprised. He couldn't really see any kind of design in the arrangement of the flowers, but maybe it made sense to Yasu.

Further out was a fenced-off area, and Ryo heard barking coming from it. "Those are the dogs," Ohkura told him. "Usually we let them in the house, but we didn't want them jumping on you while you were hurt."

"It's fine," Ryo said. "I like dogs."

They went over to the kennel, the barking getting louder as they approached. Ryo was expecting the kind of dogs he was used to, since they sounded exactly the same, so he wasn't at all prepared when Ohkura opened the door and a whole bunch of dogs came running out. They didn't look _that_ different from the dogs in Osaka, except for two very important details: they were in all kinds of colors, ordinary ones like black and yellow and much less natural ones like pink and green and orange, and they had wings.

"Umm..." Ryo started, wanting to ask about that, but he didn't get to finish because the pink dog flapped its wings and came flying (literally) at Ryo, catching him in the chest. He brought his arms up in surprise and wound up with an armful of enthusiastic dog. The dog barked happily and then licked his face.

Ryo stumbled back a step or two before he laughed and started petting the dog. His fur was soft and silky, but he seemed excitable, wiggling his tail furiously.

"Hey, hey down," Ohkura commanded belatedly. The dog's ears visibly drooped as he reluctantly glided down from Ryo's arms. The others were still observing him, looking interested, but they didn't warm up to Ryo until he stuck his hand out for them to sniff. One of the larger ones, ebony in color cautiously examined his hand and once he nosed it, the others seemed to deem Ryo okay. 

"They're a little excitable. All but the black and white dogs are less than two years old," Ohkura explained. 

"So...they're litter mates?" Ryo asked, confused. All of these different colored dogs couldn't have come from just the black and white dogs right? 

"Yeah, the black is the father and the white is the mother. Yasu brought them with him when he came here," Ohkura answered. Ryo looked at them all again. There were still so many questions he had about this world and its creatures. It seemed like he would never be able to learn about it, let alone remember all of it. 

"Alright, let's move on," Ohkura said, herding the dogs back into the kennel but letting the black dog out with them. He stuck close by Ohkura's side, occasionally looking back at Ryo as if to make sure he was following along.

They walked further from the house where there was a big, grassy field. Ryo thought it was a natural clearing until he noticed trees at either end growing together to make what looked like a goal, and flowers marking the borders. "Hina really likes to play soccer," Ohkura explained. "You'd be surprised how well he can move when he's playing, even though he's so big and bulky."

"Huh," was all Ryo could think of to say to that. A gorilla playing soccer? And yet that was hardly the strangest thing he'd come across since starting out on this quest. After all, a gorilla playing soccer seemed less weird than a gorilla _talking_.

As they turned back toward the house, they passed the fruit trees Ryo had seen when they first arrived, covered with all kinds of strangely-shaped, brightly-colored fruits. It was like everything was brighter here, Ryo thought. Osaka had never seemed drab to him, but it was by comparison. "I brought the seeds for these," Ohkura commented. He seemed to notice the way Ryo was admiring the trees and added, "You should see how it is in fairyland. There are huge forests of trees like this, where you could walk for days and never go hungry or see the other side."

"Wow," Ryo said. The more he learned about the magical world outside of his home, the more it seemed there was still to learn and see.

They stopped to pick some fruit to go with dinner before returning to the house. Ryo was glad to sit down and rest a little, finding that he still wasn't at his best despite Ohkura's efforts. He dozed off for a little, and woke to the sounds of Ohkura working in the kitchen.

He sat up slowly, feeling better after his nap. As he stretched, he noticed that almost all of the soreness was gone from his chest. It wasn't completely better, but he barely noticed it. Not quite sure he wanted to sit around and do nothing, Ryo headed into the kitchen to see if Ohkura needed any more help. 

"Is there anything I can do?" he asked, standing in the doorway and looking in as Ohkura stirred the large pot. It smelled good, whatever it was. 

Ohkura turned around to look at him, pausing to think. "The others should be back soon. Could you set the table?" He pointed the spoon towards one of the cabinets, frowning when a large glob of dinner fell to the floor. 

Ohkura put the finishing touches on dinner while Ryo set out plates and spoons. This was the first time he'd helped out like this, but it was nice. It felt kind of like how a family would do things together, a non-royal family. He found that he didn't really mind doing these kinds of things after all.

Almost as soon as he had finished setting the table, as though they'd known dinner was ready, Maru, Yasu and Hiroki came back. "Mmm, smells good," Hiroki said.

"Ah, it's Tacchon's curry-thing night," Maru said, smiling but not stopping, his mouth growing larger and larger. Ryo stared, and then Maru laughed, returning to his usual humanoid form, winking at Ryo. "I'm hungry," he said. Thankfully, Yoko and the other two showed up quickly, and they all sat down to eat.

"I'm starving," Yoko whined as he took a seat next to Hiroki. 

"There are no mushrooms, right?" Subaru asked warily. 

"No," Ohkura answered, adding under his breath, "Even though they make it taste better."

After they all sat down, Ryo made eye contact with Hiroki and he smiled. He looked....maybe not happier, exactly, but the cloudy look he'd had on in the morning was gone. He looked relaxed and content.

"Have fun?" Ryo asked and Hiroki nodded.

"It was so cool," Hiroki said with a grin. "But riding Maru is a bit scary when he goes that fast,". His smile was genuine, that much Ryo could tell after all these years, and he found himself returning it unconsciously. "What did you do?" Hiroki asked him.

"I helped make dinner," Ryo said. "And then Ohkura showed me around. I got to see the dogs."

"There are dogs?!" Hiroki turned to the others with a mix of excitement and displeasure, like he couldn't believe they hadn't shown him the dogs, making all of them laugh.

"We can let them into the house after dinner," Yasu said. "They'll love it."

The conversation flowed freely all through dinner. It seemed like these guys never stopped talking, but Ryo didn't mind. They made him laugh, and they had all sorts of interesting stories to tell about their life together and where they'd come from.

"Did you know Subaru's a prince?" Yoko commented after Subaru said something particularly questionable. "You'd never guess, right?" Ryo choked on his drink at the word before he realized it wasn't about him, and Yoko gave him a funny look. "What?" he asked. "Are you scared of princes?"

Ryo shot a look at Hiroki, who shrugged in response to his unspoken question. "No," he said. "Actually, umm, I'm a prince too."

"Eh, really?" Yoko asked. He sounded surprised but not particularly shocked. Why would he be, when they already had a prince among their number?

"So that's what you meant..." Ohkura said thoughtfully. Hiroki gave Ryo a questioning look at that, but he just shook his head. They could talk about that later.

"I don't know why you didn't just tell us," Hina said matter of factly. "We wouldn't do anything bad to you."

"We just wanted to be sure it was okay," Hiroki said. "Not everyone we've met along the way has been us trustworthy as you guys."

Yoko patted Hiroki on the back, making him jump and then laugh at himself. "No need to worry about any of us. We're harmless. Mostly."

"We've realized that now," Hiroki responded, smiling warmly at them. 

"Are you're going to be king?" Ryo asked Subaru tentatively. He hoped it wasn't one of those things you weren't supposed to pry into, but they'd volunteered him being a prince easily enough. Ohkura had said they were all okay with their parents. 

Subaru laughed shortly. "My mom and my older brother would both have to die for that to happen." He didn't seem at all bothered by the prospect of not ruling; maybe he preferred it that way. Ryo knew exactly how much pressure being next in line for the throne entailed.

Hiroki tilted his head. "Your mom is ruling now? " Ryo looked up in surprise; he hadn't even registered that.

"Of course," Subaru said, like there wasn't anything unusual about a female king—queen ruling. "She rules it with an iron fist." He smiled wryly. "I still have bruises." 

"He'd be a lot easier to manage if she was around," Yoko said, heaving an exaggerated sigh. Subaru grinned, not denying it. 

"You don't have any siblings, Ryo?" Maru asked curiously.

"I have a sister, but she can't become king. Queen. Whatever. Where I'm from, females have never ruled the kingdom." Ryo tried to imagine what would happen if there were a female ruler in Osaka. Would the people ever accept his sister in his place? He found it hard to believe. But then, he'd seen a lot of hard-to-believe things since starting on this quest.

He must have looked thoughtful, or distracted, because Hiroki nudged his calf with his toe and gave him an odd look. Ryo shook his head again and tuned back into the conversation.

"Ah. I see," Yasu said, frowning. He gave Hiroki a look that Ryo couldn't understand, but he just smiled, shrugging it off before taking another bite of food. Ryo looked between them, wondering what exactly Hiroki had told Yasu while they were out. 

"This food is amazing," Hiroki said. Ryo didn't know if he was trying to change the subject or if he just really liked the food, but he was glad to have the conversation move away from him. Ohkura beamed in response.

After dinner, they broke out the alcohol, a sweet, fruity drink that Ryo drank too much of before he realized how strong it was. He was in good company; this was the kind of drink Hiroki loved, and all the others were drinking enthusiastically too. Most of them didn't act any different, just got louder, but Subaru got a lot more talkative, and Ohkura started giggling like a schoolgirl and didn't stop.

Yasu brought the dogs in, and Ryo joined Hiroki in playing with them. He was acting like a schoolgirl too, cooing over them and laughing every time they went into the air. "Aren't they cute, Ryo-chan?" he asked, holding out the yellow dog for Ryo to fuss over. He was pretty cute, looking pathetically at Ryo as if to say, "Save me from him." Ryo took him out of Hiroki's hands and set him down, at which point he promptly ran and hid behind the blue dog.

When Ohkura fell asleep on the couch and started snoring loudly, they decided it was time to go to bed. Ryo forgot to feel awkward until he and Hiroki were in bed with the door closed. His body felt warm from the alcohol, and warmer now with Hiroki lying so close to him. During the day, with Hiroki away and then the others all around them, it had been easy to forget about what was going on with them, but he couldn't now.

"Ryo-chan?" Hiroki whispered.

Ryo thought about pretending to be asleep, but instead he said, "Yeah?"

There was a long pause and he thought Hiroki might not say anything else, but then he asked, "If...I know it's not possible, but if your sister could rule instead of you, would you give that up?" Another silence, and then he continued, "I don't mean for me. But it seems like...maybe you're only going along with that because you don't have another choice. Maybe it's not what you want."

"I..." It felt weird to be having this conversation with his back to Hiroki, so Ryo turned toward him, trying not to think about how close their faces were now. "I don't know if I don't want it or if I'm scared and running away because of that. How am I supposed to know the difference?"

Hiroki smiled a little wryly at that. Ryo's body was still sluggish, the alcohol buzzing distractingly throughout him. "I can't answer that," Hiroki said. Ryo tried not to stare at his mouth as he spoke, feeling warm, all too aware of how close together they were.

"You're no help," Ryo joked. He didn't really want to think about this right now, but it was hard now that he'd started. He could just be scared, or maybe he really did feel that this ruling thing wasn't right for him. It was so hard to know for sure.

Hiroki laughed shortly, a low sound that sent a shiver of something through Ryo. "You should do what feels right," Hiroki finished, sort of lamely. He sounded sincere but he gave a short, awkward laugh; he wasn't all that good at this 'feelings' stuff either. 

"Whatever that is," Ryo mumbled absently. The alcohol was suppressing the little voice inside of him that was telling him that he was too close to Hiroki. Instead, he leaned in closer, until only a few inches separated them.

"It does feel right, doesn't it?" Hiroki murmured, his gaze focused somewhere in the vicinity of Ryo's lips. "Us, together." He smiled a self-deprecating sort of smile. "I'm not saying I'm the most amazing catch ever, but if you really do lo—like me, why hold back?"

"It's more complicated than that," Ryo said, but he had to admit it was hard to remember right now, with Hiroki so close to him, why he was still resisting.

"Don't think about the future." Hiroki's voice was getting softer and lower, so Ryo had to strain to hear it. "We can worry about that later. But don't you want me?"

Ryo drew in a sharp breath, the shiver Hiroki's voice sent through his body answering the question all too clearly. "I do, but..." he started.

"But nothing," Hiroki whispered, before leaning in to kiss Ryo. Whatever doubts he was having were silenced as he reacted automatically, bringing his hand up to Hiroki's cheek and kissing back, hesitantly at first and then harder. Hiroki's lips were almost familiar now, and that made him eager for more, pressing his tongue into Hiroki's mouth and feeling the shudder that went through him.

Ryo didn't know how long they stayed like that, barely coming up for air. He slid his hand into Hiroki's hair and clutched at it, making him moan. Hiroki pulled him closer with a hand on his hip and Ryo rolled on top of him, and that's when he realized with a shock that they were both hard and the reality of the situation caught up to him.

"Ryo?" Hiroki asked, breathing hard. Ryo paused, still on top of Hiroki, and he could feel how fast both of their hearts were beating. What they were doing—about to do—that didn't scare Ryo as much as how much he realized he wanted it. But they shouldn't, not while he was drunk. What if it wasn't his feelings but the alcohol? And even if it wasn't, if this was what he really wanted, it shouldn't happen like this.

Ryo reluctantly rolled off of Hiroki and onto his back, his arm covering his eyes so he wouldn't have to look at Hiroki. He knew he wasn't _that_ drunk anymore. He wanted Hiroki, more than he'd wanted anyone else before, and that was terrifying. 

"We, umm, I...everyone's out there," Ryo finished lamely, still not looking at Hiroki. His lips were tingling from their earlier kisses and he was all too aware of how hard he still was when he rolled over onto his side, facing away from Hiroki. 

"Right," Hiroki said, voice thick. Ryo felt a twinge of guilt at putting him through this. He knew it wasn't fair for Hiroki to be strung along because of his emotional hang-ups. He needed to figure out what he was going to do and just do it. He knew what he wanted now, as scary as that was.

"Goodnight, Ryo-chan," Hiroki said quietly. Ryo mumbled his response, feeling the bed shift as Hiroki rolled over. He closed his eyes, trying to calm his pounding heart, but sleep didn't come easily that night.

 

Ryo woke up alone the next morning. He was surprised to find that he wasn't hungover at all; it must be some kind of magic, since he'd definitely been drunk the night before. Not drunk enough, though, that he didn't distinctly remember kissing Hiroki and wanting to do a whole lot more than that. He licked his lips unconsciously, thinking about that.

He could hear people talking (loudly, even in the morning) on the other side of the door, so he got up and went out of the room. "Hey, sleepyhead!" Maru greeted him with a smile.

"Good morning," Ryo said, yawning. The green dog ran over to greet him and when he reached down to scratch its head, it flew up to meet his hand.

Ohkura was the only one still sleeping, lying on the couch with a pillow over his head, but he woke up reluctantly when Yoko poked him and immediately perked up at the mention of breakfast, which was already set out on the table. He ate quickly and without talking, and it wasn't until he sat back with a satisfied sigh that he turned to Ryo and said, "I can probably heal you the rest of the way now. I'm feeling a lot better."

Ryo gave him a funny look, not expecting that out of the blue, and everyone else burst out laughing. Ohkura made a face, but he didn't really seem bothered by it. "I was hungry," was all he said.

As the others cleared the table, Ryo sat on the couch. Ohkura put a hand on his chest, looking thoughtful. "There's not much left," he said, "but I'll take care of it."

Ryo closed his eyes as that now-familiar sensation washed over him, and when it was done, he found he felt great. "Thank you," he said, and Ohkura smiled and stood up.

"Now you're set for whatever you want to do," Subaru said. His tone was so bland that it took Ryo a moment to register his suggestive wink. That made him blush, embarrassingly; of course the others all knew about him and Hiroki, but it was weird to have them comment on it. Besides, thinking about what he wanted to do was enough to make him blush regardless.

They all obviously noticed his blush, although only Subaru snickered noticeably. They left it at that, starting to discuss the plans for the day instead. Ryo looked around, suddenly realizing that he hadn't seen Hiroki all morning. As if he knew who Ryo was looking for, Maru sidled up to him. "He's out helping Hina on the soccer field," Maru stage whispered to him.

Knowing where he was was enough; Ryo didn't think he wanted to see Hiroki right now, especially not after what had happened last night. Even now, his brain was constantly flashing those memories at him. It was like he couldn't focus on anything but that for long.

The back door slid open and Yasu stepped in, wearing knee high bright polka dotted work boots. He looked around and then laid eyes on Ryo, smiling before calling out to him. "Do you feel well enough to help me with something?"

"Yeah, sure," Ryo agreed quickly. He was antsy to get out of the house and do something now that he was fully healed. Yasu grinned and Ryo followed him. They were headed to the kennel, and Ryo wondered what Yasu needed his help with. It became more obvious when he saw the paint buckets sitting around the outside and a small stack of wood paneling. 

"The dogs managed to destroy part of one of the walls yesterday," Yasu explained. They quickly got to work, Yasu giving Ryo instructions are they worked side by side. It was comfortable; Yasu seemed like one of those people that you can relax with and not have to worry about what you say. 

"So, you and Hiroki?" Yasu asked, trying to start a conversation. 

"Yeah," Ryo said vaguely. He just knew he was turning red, and Yasu hadn't even said anything weird yet. There was a lot of that going on in this house, Ryo noticed. It wasn't exactly bad, but it was rather embarrassing. 

"You seem a bit...confused. You can talk to me, if you want," Yasu added and Ryo found himself believing his sincerity. Ryo had never considered himself one to talk about his feelings easily (or, more accurately, without a lot of teeth pulling) but somehow he found himself feeling able to talk to Yasu about this. 

"I l-like him, I guess," Ryo frowned. "It's just...what happens when I have to go back?" 

"The only way it's guaranteed not to work out is if you don't go for it at all," Yasu said, patting Ryo's back when he looked frustrated. "If you and Hiroki want to be together now, maybe you shouldn't talk yourself out of it." It was sort of what Hiroki had said the night before, trying not to worry about the future. If he was okay with it, then maybe Ryo could be too. They could figure out the rest later.

"You're right," he agreed. "It's just hard, you know, not to overthink it." Then another thought occurred to him and he blushed even darker. "And I don't, umm...that is, I've never..."

"Had sex?" Yasu supplied helpfully. When Ryo spluttered in response, he amended, "With a guy?"

"Yeah," Ryo mumbled. He pounded a nail into the wood, hoping that would make him feel better, but he could still feel his cheeks burning.

"I could help you out," Yasu offered. "Give advice, I mean. But only if you want."

The last thing Ryo wanted to do right now was have a conversation about gay sex with a cheerful little elf, but it seemed better than the alternative of embarrassing himself with Hiroki. "Okay," he said. His mumbling was barely intelligible now, but somehow Yasu got it.

By the time Yasu had finished his explanation, Ryo was sure he was beet red and they were done mending the fence. "I can do the painting myself," Yasu said, taking pity on him.

"Thanks," Ryo muttered, and then fled. He stopped in the middle of the grove of fruit trees and hid there until he thought he could go inside without it being obvious what he and Yasu had been talking about. To his relief, no one seemed to notice his embarrassment, and when Yasu came back in, he didn't say anything, just grinned at Ryo.

The rest of the day was uneventful, but Ryo had a hard time relaxing. He couldn't decide if he was impatient for evening to come so they could just get it over with or if he wanted to put it off as long as possible. He wasn't even sure that something would happen tonight, but...given what had happened the night before, it was hard to believe it wouldn't. Hiroki wouldn't push him away if he went for it.

Ryo didn't say anything as they got ready for bed. He couldn't guess what Hiroki was thinking, but his mind was racing, half eagerness and half terror.

Finally, when the silence was starting to feel too oppressive, Hiroki said, "Look..." He paused, fidgeting awkwardly, and Ryo could see he was holding something in his hand. "Yasu gave me this," he finished, dropping a little container onto the bed. "And he implied that you were...planning something." Thanks to Yasu's explanation, Ryo knew exactly what that was for, but he hadn't expected Hiroki to have it. "It's okay if you don't want to," Hiroki added quickly. "But if you do..." He gestured at the container.

Ryo wanted nothing more than to look away then, but he forced himself to meet Hiroki's eyes. It was stupid to be this shy with his best friend when they both knew exactly what they wanted right now. "I do. I, umm..."

"Let's not talk anymore," Hiroki said, and before Ryo could protest, he stepped close and kissed him.

This, at least, Ryo was comfortable with, and it only took a few seconds before he responded, pulling Hiroki close and kissing him softly. Ryo felt his cheeks start to flush as their kisses become more frantic, Hiroki's body pressed up right against his and every sweep of his tongue sending shivers of pleasure through his body. Ryo took a step towards the bed, and Hiroki took a step back until the backs of his knees were pressed up against it. They kissed like that for a while, Ryo's heart feeling like it was going to beat out of his chest until he pulled back, kissing along Hiroki's neck as he pushed him down onto the bed. They stared at each other for a second, eyes dark, before Hiroki grinned and pulled Ryo down by the back of his neck for a bruising kiss. 

"Ryo," Hiroki murmured, tilting his head to the side when Ryo started to kiss down his jaw, focusing on a spot along his neck. Hiroki groaned next to his ear and Ryo felt himself getting hard. He didn't pull back, just straddled his legs, one knee resting on the bed as he leaned over Hiroki and continued to make a mark onto his neck, almost jumping in surprise when Hiroki's hands came up to fist in his shirt. 

"Sit up," Ryo ordered, his voice gone husky and his eyes dark. He undid the buttons on Hiroki's shirt, his hand slowly rubbing over the skin as it was exposed. This was new territory and it was exciting, the soft noises Hiroki kept making encouraging him to do more. He stared at Hiroki then pushed his shirt off, throwing it onto the floor before going back in for another kiss, his hand sinking into Hiroki's soft hair. He seemed to like that, Ryo noted, as Hiroki moaned louder into the kiss. It felt like the temperature of the room had shot up. Ryo didn't even blink when Hiroki's hands, trembling slightly, started undoing his shirt, the small brushes of his fingers against Ryo's skin feeling too good. Hiroki struggled with the last few and Ryo barely managed to not laugh. 

"Stupid buttons," Hiroki grumbled before he gave up and forcefully tugged open Ryo's shirt. He had a moment to frown as the buttons fell to the floor with a light thunk but then Hiroki was running soft hands up his chest, accidentally flicking a nipple and making the air in Ryo's lungs whoosh out in a low groan. He slipped his shirt off his shoulders, letting it join the buttons on the floor.

When Ryo leaned against Hiroki, he groaned like he was in pain, and Ryo immediately moved back, startled. "Pants," Hiroki said, wryly, and hurried to take his off. He was hard, and Ryo found himself staring. "Stop that," Hiroki grumbled, and distracted Ryo by undressing him the rest of the way.

Ryo climbed on top of Hiroki like the night before, and this time he didn't pull away, even though he could feel Hiroki hard against him. They rocked against each other and Hiroki moaned while Ryo bit back a similar sound. It occurred to him that the others could probably hear them, at least Ohkura right next door, but he couldn't be bothered to care about that right now. (It wasn't like they didn't already know about them anyway.)

Thinking about the others made Ryo remember everything Yasu had told him, and that made him feel nervous and turned on all at the same time. He gave Hiroki a lingering kiss as he steeled his nerves, then pulled back and reached for the container lying next to them. Hiroki looked up at him, still breathing hard, and Ryo gave him a sheepish smile as he rolled off of Hiroki and opened the container.

The stuff in the container was wet and a little sticky, and it warmed up almost immediately on Ryo's fingers (magic, maybe?). He hesitated, rubbing it over his fingers, until Hiroki said in a low voice, "Go ahead."

Ryo stared at him, getting more worked up as he gently pushed Hiroki legs up and apart. He vaguely remembered what Yasu had told him to do. He'd have to be patient, but it was hard to do with the way Hiroki was staring up at him, his bangs in his face and lust in his eyes. He wanted it now, but he controlled himself, pressing a soft kiss to the inside of Hiroki's thigh as he coated his finger with more of the stuff, pressing it gently against the rim. Hiroki grunted at the contact, turned on still but looking a little nervous. 

"Relax," Ryo said, voice stilted. He circled his finger around a little bit more before slowly pressing it in, watching Hiroki's face screw up as he slowly moved it in and out. It took more of the lube before the finger slid easily in and out, Hiroki moaning a little every so often. Ryo bit his lip. He wanted to do it already, just skip all of this, but he knew that this was necessary. The second finger took a bit more effort, and Ryo on a whim used his free hand to grip Hiroki's cock, the weight and heat of it completely foreign to him. He'd jerked himself off before, of course, but sliding his hand up and down Hiroki's was different. He could feel Hiroki twitch and whimper as his fingers hit a spot inside of him. 

"Ryo," Hiroki moaned, jerking when Ryo hit that spot again. 

"Is it okay?" Ryo asked, his hand leaving Hiroki's cock and rubbing small circles over his hip. 

Hiroki moaned, managing to nod as he pushed back against Ryo's fingers, and that was answer enough. Ryo slowly pushed another finger in. It was tight and it felt like it was taking forever for Hiroki to get ready. Ryo kept his fingers moving, pushing them in and out and twisting them. Even though it was taking a while, it was worth it to be able to see Hiroki underneath him like this, grabbing the sheets in his hand with sweat gathering at his brow. It was hot, and had Ryo more turned on than he'd been in a long time. 

"Hurry," Hiroki moaned when Ryo's fingers moved in and out smoothly. Ryo, worked up and impatient, quickly slid more of the lube over his cock, groaning at his own touch. He paused, looking down at Hiroki spread out and waiting for him, the look in his eyes urging Ryo to lean down and kiss him, a gentle contrast to when he pushed in a little too fast, too eager a second later.

After that, it all seemed to happen very quickly, almost too quickly. Ryo started to move his hips, thrusting in and out, and he was afraid it might be too much except that Hiroki urged him on. He was fascinated by the way Hiroki looked, flushed and sweaty, with his mouth open as he moaned unabashedly and his eyes squeezed shut tight. He looked so different from the way Ryo was used to seeing him, amazingly so.

Ryo didn't know how long he'd be able to last, so he reached for Hiroki's cock and stroked it, letting out a moan himself when Hiroki's body unexpectedly tightened around him. It was so intense, trying to focus on moving his hips and his hand and watching Hiroki, feeling himself get closer with each thrust. Then suddenly Hiroki cried out and came, arching up against Ryo, and that threw him over the edge too, making him see stars as pleasure coursed through his body.

Everything seemed very quiet afterwards, no sound in the room but their harsh breathing. Ryo didn't know what to do until Hiroki opened his eyes, gave a little smile, and pulled him down for a kiss. Then it was easy, just kissing softly like it was the most natural thing in the world. Ryo felt relaxed and happy, really happy. Having sex didn't magically erase all his worries, but he was sure now that it was the right choice. He was sure that, in spite of everything else, he wanted Hiroki, just like this.

"What are you thinking?" Hiroki murmured, his lips just barely brushing Ryo's as he spoke.

It was an easy answer, but Ryo hesitated for a second before he whispered, "I love you." Hiroki blinked in surprise for a second and then beamed at him, and Ryo knew from the warm rush he felt at that that it was entirely true.

 

Ryo woke up in the morning, as he had many times before, with Hiroki clinging to him, but this time it was different. They were naked under the blankets, and facing each other, Ryo's face pressed against Hiroki's shoulder. Ryo felt a little bit self-conscious, but he didn't want to move. He was warm and comfortable and still happy, in no hurry to ruin the moment.

Hiroki was still asleep, breathing softly, and Ryo didn't want to wake him up, but they shouldn't sleep in so late. He stayed like that for a few minutes before he started poking Hiroki softly. Hiroki groaned, frowning in his sleep, and pulled Ryo even closer to him. He wanted to laugh, but the memories of last night were fresh and unless they wanted to risk getting walked in on in the middle of round two, they should really get up. Ryo shook his shoulder, urging him to wake up a little more forcefully. 

"Hi," Ryo said quietly, getting a little shy once he saw Hiroki shift, eyes blinking open. 

"Ugh," Hiroki whined, reluctantly opening his eyes all the way to glare sleepily at Ryo. 

"We should get up," Ryo said, but he didn't make any move to pull away from Hiroki.

"Don't wanna," Hiroki mumbled His hand was resting lightly on Ryo's hip. This was dangerous, Ryo knew, because even though that alone wasn't suggestive, the look in Hiroki's eyes and the lift of the corner of his mouth was. It took a lot of willpower, but Ryo managed to roll out of bed, searching for his pants and trying to ignore the way Hiroki's eyes were following him. If he looked back, he probably wouldn't be able to convince himself to shower and then be social was the right choice.

After a moment, he heard the bed creak as Hiroki got up. "Oww," he grumbled, and Ryo turned to look at him, worried and a little bit guilty, if Hiroki was hurting for the reason he suspected. Hiroki met his look of concern with a wry smile. "I'm fine," he said. "Just a bit sore." His smile turned a little mischievous as he added, "You were a little, umm, enthusiastic."

Ryo bit his lip, unable to decide between smirking back at Hiroki and blushing bright red and winding up somewhere in the middle. Hiroki laughed. "Not that I mind, really."

Once they were both dressed, they left the room together. Ohkura, Hina, Yasu and Yoko were talking outside, but they broke off their conversation immediately. _Uh oh,_ Ryo thought. Just how loud had they been?

"So," Yoko said, looking way too amused for Ryo's comfort, "sounds like you two had fun last night." Hina smacked him over the head, but his smile didn't falter at all.

"You heard, huh?" Hiroki asked sheepishly.

"How could we not?" Ohkura muttered. He looked much less amused than Yoko, probably because his room was right next door to theirs.

"Sorry," Ryo mumbled. He couldn't bring himself to look any of the others in the eye. It wasn't like he was embarrassed about having sex with Hiroki, exactly, but having people hear them doing it was a little weird. Maybe these guys didn't have any secrets from each other, but he wasn't used to living like that.

"Don't worry about it," Yasu chirped, clearly happy for them. "We're just glad you're happy."

"Thanks," Hiroki said. Ryo could practically hear the smile in his voice. "We'll be quieter next time."

_Next time._ The thought made Ryo nervous and excited and a whole bunch of other emotions all at once. It was confusing, but nice too. Maybe this was what being in love felt like, he thought.

"I hope so," Ohkura grumbled, staring pointedly at the ceiling

If it was love, Ryo didn't think he wanted to let it go. He caught Hiroki's eye, a smile still playing across his lips, and Ryo couldn't help but flash him his own grin. He felt pretty embarrassed right now but still happy, and he had not a single regret about last night. 

Ryo's embarrassment didn't last through breakfast. He and Hiroki kept catching each others' gaze at breakfast and grinning quickly before going back to eating. If Ohkura, who was sitting across from them, didn't seem to notice, it was because he was too busy looking anywhere but at them, probably because of what he'd heard the night before. Ryo would probably feel bad later, but right now, he was in too good of spirits to bother. Things were going well with Hiroki and he was enjoying the company here, and despite his many uncertainties, he felt pretty good about his life.

"So, about the dragon," Yoko said, out of the blue. "Are you still up for slaying it?" 

Ryo frowned, coming abruptly back down to earth. That was the whole point of their quest, but the image of Hiroki almost dying flashed through his mind, and his gut twisted, anger bubbling up inside of him. He wanted revenge, but he wondered if he wanted to chance something like that happening again. 

"Yes," Hiroki said firmly, like there was no question in his mind. "He ruined my favorite shirt." He laughed a little, scratching the back of his head. Ryo looked at him questioningly, but Hiroki just smiled back, trying to look reassuring. 

"That was our original goal with this whole quest...thing," Ryo said cautiously. He supposed if Hiroki wanted revenge then he couldn't really be the one to back down from this. He'd just have to be there to make sure he didn't do something stupid and almost get himself killed again. 

"We hoped you'd say that!" Hina said enthusiastically. 

"We'd like to help you," Maru added, smiling. 

"Help us?" Ryo asked, a little surprised and also unsure of what they could do to help.

"We've got some abilities that could be helpful," Yoko explained. "And Yasu thinks he can teach you some magic."

"Magic?" Ryo and Hiroki both echoed, turning to Yasu. "But we're human," Ryo added.

"There are some charms than even non-magical beings can do, with the right training," Yasu explained. "Based on what we know about Johnny, some of them might be useful." He looked excited at the prospect, and Ryo was too. It was hard to imagine doing any magic himself, but he was really curious to try, especially if it would help them defeat the dragon. He was nervous too, for many reasons, but with the help of the others, he was sure things would go differently. This time he was even more determined. He was going to make the dragon pay for hurting Hiroki, and see his quest through to the end.

 

They started their training with Yasu that very day, and it wasn't at all what Ryo had expected. He'd thought they might have to recite some strange spells, or mix up strange potions, or use magical object like the one Sho had given them (not that the stone had done anything for them). Instead, Yasu had him and Hiroki sit on the floor with their legs crossed, close their eyes, and relax.

"That doesn't sound very magical," Hiroki objected, but he sounded more curious than annoyed, sitting down and trying to imitate Yasu's position even though he wasn't nearly as flexible.

Ryo had his doubts too, but he joined them on the floor, closing his eyes and trying to think of nothing like Yasu told them to. "Let your mind clear," he murmured, "your thoughts retreating like a wave pulling back from the sand. Become empty, so that the power of the universe can fill you."

Ryo cracked his eyes open, and caught Hiroki doing the same. Hiroki made a face that clearly said, "What is this?" and Ryo rolled his eyes.

Then Yasu opened his eyes. "Don't you even want to try?" he asked reproachfully, and something about his obvious disappointment made Ryo feel disproportionately guilty.

"Yes, I'm sorry," Ryo apologized quickly. Yasu smiled at him, closing his eyes again and starting to breathe in slowly. Ryo closed his eyes and took a deep breath, but he couldn't feel the universe, or anything else, filling him at all. He tried not to frown. It might be a little relaxing, but his brain wouldn't clear itself. Thoughts kept crossing his mind, a reoccurring one being "this is stupid." Ryo cracked open an eye and was a little relieved to see Hiroki fidgeting too; at least he wasn't alone in struggling with this.

"Try not to move," Yasu said, and Hiroki went stock still, "and keep your eyes closed." Ryo wondered if that was just a lucky guess or if Yasu could sense this kind of stuff with magic. He felt a little embarrassed to be caught and closed his eyes, trying harder to clear his mind and keep breathing slowly.

"Inhale deeply and exhale out the bad energy," Yasu said in a far off voice. Ryo was even more skeptical of this but he followed the instructions, hearing Uchi breathing next to him. He wondered how long they'd continue this, but quickly shoved that thought out of his mind; the longer it took to master this magic, the longer it would take before he could slay the stupid dragon.

It seemed like hours before Yasu called for a break for the day, but it probably wasn't that long at all. "Before I can teach you anything, you'll both have to learn how to let down your mind's walls," Yasu said. It wasn't really a criticism, but Ryo felt like he was being scolded anyway. "We'll try again tomorrow." Yasu stood up and smiled at them. Ryo was a little disappointed by their lack of progress. He hadn't thought it would be easy, of course, but this was hard. He wondered if he'd ever be able to get the hang of it.

As soon as Yasu was gone, Hiroki caught Ryo's eye and they both burst out laughing, trying to and only partly succeeding at keeping quiet so they wouldn't insult Yasu any more than they already had. "We're never going to learn magic," Hiroki got out between giggles.

Ryo shook his head, still grinning. "There's got to be a better way to do it than this."

"Maybe Yasu's right," Hiroki said when he'd finally stopped laughing. "About the walls in our minds or whatever it was."

"Then maybe we're just hopeless at it," Ryo said wryly.

Hiroki shrugged. "I guess we should probably try, huh? Instead of laughing about it."

"Probably," Ryo agreed sheepishly. He wasn't exactly going into this with an open mind. It sounded stupid to him, but practically everything about Yasu and the others would have sounded stupid to him a few months ago. He should give it a fair chance, if only so he could go against the dragon with every possible tool at his disposal. Losing again wasn't an option.

He took a deep breath of fresh air when they stepped outside, and Hiroki grinned at him. Being here, even if they didn't really know their hosts that well yet, was comfortable, and Ryo found himself feeling at home, even if it was strange to feel like that in a place so far away and different from where he'd grown up.

"I like this place," Hiroki said suddenly, and Ryo smiled and nodded his agreement. It was funny how often he found himself thinking along the same lines as Hiroki.

The area was beautiful too. They'd both been too busy to stop and take a look before, but the valley, with its rolling hills and the sun softly sinking toward the horizon, was striking. 

"Hey! It's dinner time," Maru said as he flew by in his bird form. Hiroki jumped, surprised, and Ryo laughed at him. 

"Maru-chan," Hiroki whined. "You startled me.

"Sorry," Maru said, taking human form with a pop. The transformation was too fast for their eyes to catch it, and once again, Ryo found himself in awe of all the magic that existed in this world. Osaka was sheltered; he didn't know how they had survived so long without any contact with these communities. They could learn so much from the world outside their isolated kingdom, Ryo thought. Maybe when he was king, he would try sending out ambassadors to make contact with the elves and fairies and dwarves and other magical creatures out there.

"Hello, Ryo-chan?" Hiroki said, waving a hand in front of Ryo's eyes, and he realized that he hadn't been listening to the conversation at all. "Are we that boring?"

Ryo shook his head quickly. "Sorry, I was just thinking." It felt weird to think about when he would be king. If he could make changes like that, maybe make life better for the people of Osaka, would that be worth what he would have to give up? He wasn't so sure. It sounded like more fun, and more worthwhile too, to be the one going out and meeting the different magical creatures and learning what he could from them.

Hiroki elbowed him in the ribs, effectively distracting Ryo from that train of thought. "Stop it," he said. "It's bad for you to think too much."

"Maybe you should think more," Ryo retorted, shoving him as payback.

Maru smiled, moving safely out of the way. "You guys are good friends, huh?" he said.

Ryo scoffed at that, but he had to smile too. Hiroki was a good friend, and maybe he was right. They had an immediate goal right now, defeating the dragon. He could worry about what would come after when it came time to face it.

 

The second day of magic training with Yasu went much like the first, and then the third and the fourth and the fifth, except that by then they weren't laughing much anymore. Ryo was frustrated because he really was trying now and he still couldn't get the hang of it. Hiroki claimed to be able to clear his mind, even if he couldn't feel the power of the universe, but closing his eyes and trying to relax just made Ryo's mind race. The only time he did manage to relax was when Yasu told him to try lying down and he just fell asleep, which, Yasu said dryly, wouldn't really help him learn to do magic.

"You need to relax; you can't force your mind to clear," Yasu instructed. He didn't sound particularly frustrated, but he had to be. It had been over a week and they still hadn't made any progress beyond Hiroki being able to clear his mind. (Ryo liked to think it was because there wasn't much there to begin with, but he didn't say that out loud.)

"Did you feel that?" Yasu asked suddenly, eyes snapping open. He was looking between them, his eyes bright. 

"Feel what?" Ryo was confused; he hadn't felt a thing.

"One of you..." Yasu trailed off, looking in Hiroki's direction. 

"Was that me?" Hiroki asked tentatively.

"What did you do?" Ryo demanded, annoyed that he didn't know what was going on.

"I'm not sure," Hiroki admitted, looking to Yasu for an explanation.

"It was...I guess you could call it an energy wave. In time, instead of raw energy, you'll be able to put out magic," Yasu said excitedly.

"Wow," Hiroki said, looking quite pleased with himself.

Ryo stared at him, his frustration building. This was ridiculous; how was Hiroki so much better at this than him?

Yasu beamed at Hiroki. "Now that you've felt it, try to imagine it coursing through your body, from the center of your body all the way out to your fingers and toes and back." Hiroki didn't look too confident, but he closed his eyes anyway. He didn't make much more progress by the time he stopped, but he still seemed excited about managing to do something.

Yasu stayed and helped Ryo after Hiroki went back to help cook. He was still having trouble. He was thinking too much about too many things and he just couldn't turn his brain off. 

"You might need to work out some of the problems that are bothering you before we can make more progress," Yasu said, patting him on the shoulder. Somehow that just made Ryo feel worse. He didn't think he was ever going to be able to manage this.

 

"How did you do that?" Ryo asked Hiroki later, once they'd finished dinner and were back in their room.

Hiroki tilted his head and scrunched up his face. "I don't know. I just...relaxed. I felt comfortable sitting and not focusing on anything, maybe," He laughed shortly. He didn't seem to know how it worked either, which was even more frustrating for Ryo. How could he do something when he had no idea how it worked?

"Great," Ryo grumbled, diving into bed like he could escape everything that way. Hiroki followed soon after, curling up behind him like they had for the past few nights. 

"You'll get it," Hiroki whispered, lips brushing softly against the shell of Ryo's ear. He welcomed the distraction, turning his head so he could kiss Hiroki properly.

This, at least, was easy, and comfortable and familiar by now. Hiroki's lips were soft, and his hand was warm when it snuck under the hem of Ryo's undershirt. "I don't know why you bother wearing anything to bed," Hiroki murmured against Ryo's lips, making him smile. He had a point; they hadn't been able to get enough of each other since the other night, and Ryo had every intention of making tonight no different.

"Maybe I can help you clear your mind," Hiroki continued with a smirk. "We can make _magic_ together."

Ryo rolled his eyes so hard he thought they might fall out of his head. "Don't talk anymore," he said. "I like you better when you keep your mouth shut."

"Hmm..." Hiroki put his hand on Ryo's chest, tracing down it with a few fingers. "Are you sure about that?"

"Yeah," Ryo said, barely hesitating, his abs twitching when Hiroki's fingers slid over them, not stopping their path south. He bit his lip, forcing himself to be quiet as the heel of Hiroki's hand pressed down against his crotch. He wasn't hard yet, but he would be very soon if they kept this up. 

"I bet I can convince you otherwise," Hiroki said, voice filled with promise, before kissing his neck. Ryo didn't object, just tilted his head so Hiroki had more room. He was a little surprised when Hiroki suddenly pulled back, shoving him onto his back and straddling his legs. Ryo looked up at him, but he just smirked down at him, his hand going back to stroking him through his underwear. Hiroki leaned in, kissing him until Ryo started to feel out of breath, sucking in air when he moved onto his jaw then his neck. It all left him in a whoosh when Hiroki's hand reached inside his pants and stroked him directly. He was completely interested now, hips unconsciously jerking up into his fist. With his free hand, Hiroki pushed up Ryo's shirt and kissed down his chest, flicking his nipple with his tongue and grinning against his skin when Ryo's breath caught.

"Weren't you trying to make a point?" Ryo grumbled when Hiroki didn't get much further than slow, teasing kissing down his chest. 

Hiroki laughed, voice thick with arousal and Ryo watched in amazement as he pulled down his underwear with his other hand still around Ryo's cock. His lips slowly moved from his lower stomach toward Ryo's cock lying against his stomach, his chin bumping the tip and sending a jolt of pleasure through Ryo's body. 

"Oh god," Ryo moaned, his hand clamping over his mouth at the first tentative touch of Hiroki's tongue. He couldn't believe Hiroki was doing this, his tongue sliding up the underside and swirling around the head. He leaned up on his elbows, watching as Hiroki slowly sucked the tip in and bobbed his head, the sight of his lips pursed around him making Ryo flush, his head tilting back when it got to be too much. 

"Still think I should keep my mouth shut?" Hiroki asked all of a sudden after a few minutes, pulling back just when it was getting good. Ryo was breathing heavily, and he didn't say anything until he was sure his voice would come out even.

"Fine. It's better occupied." He managed a smirk even as his hips pushed up into Hiroki's slack fist.

Hiroki laughed, smacking his hip playfully, but he didn't seem too put out. "You like it?" Hiroki asked, sliding a hand teasingly up his side. 

"Yes," Ryo mumbled, starting to feel more desperate. "Now, stop being a tease." He watched as Hiroki shrugged, then with a grin took him back into his mouth, the warm, wet slide feeling like relief to him with how worked up he was. Hiroki kept bobbing his head, fingers wrapped around the base and pulling him off at the same time. He pulled back occasionally to lick up the underside and slide his tongue through the slit at the tip, and each time Ryo's hips arched up. He was getting close, the blood rushing through his ears and little tremors racking his body. 

"I'm..." he choked out as he felt himself start to go over the edge, fingernails digging into Hiroki's shoulder. His entire body tensed up and his toes curled as Hiroki sucked at the tip, tongue pressing up against the underside. He pulled back at the last minute, hand stroking quickly until Ryo came over his stomach with a gasp. Ryo panted, trying to regain his breath, but Hiroki was impatient, immediately pulling him up and pressing their mouths together in a heated kiss. Ryo didn't have time to feel odd about where his mouth had been; Hiroki was already grabbing his hand and putting it over his achingly hard cock.

Ryo recovered quickly and kissed Hiroki, muffling his soft groans as he pulled him off. It wouldn't take much; Hiroki was already worked up, shaking and clinging to him as Ryo flicked his wrist just right. He buried his face in Ryo's shoulder as he got closer, breath catching. Ryo's arm was getting tired, but he moved it faster, liking the way Hiroki sounded as he came undone against him. 

"Ryo," Hiroki groaned, jerking and spilling over his hand a few seconds later. He was still trembling slightly as he leaned up and kissed Ryo breathlessly. 

"I'm all gross," Ryo grumbled when they pulled apart, less because he was upset than because he didn't want to admit what he was really thinking. He didn't think he could put it into words anyway, this complicated mix of warmth and happiness and hope and doubt and fear.

"And you say I whine," Hiroki said, giving him a good-natured shove. Ryo reluctantly got up and cleaned himself up with a towel before throwing it at Hiroki's head. "Eww," he said, voice muffled by the towel, but he didn't really seem to mind.

Ryo got back in bed and reached for Hiroki, pulling him close. "Goodnight," he murmured into Hiroki's hair.

"Goodnight," Hiroki mumbled.

 

Ryo approached their next lesson with Yasu with very little enthusiasm, expecting another day of him struggling and Hiroki managing to accomplish something without even trying. Hiroki had never bested him at _anything_ , and he didn't like it one bit. Why was this so hard for him?

He did try, until Yasu said gently, "You can't _force_ yourself to relax, Ryo."

"Then how?" Ryo muttered, not trying to hide his irritation. Hiroki opened his eyes and shot him a sympathetic look that just made Ryo more annoyed.

"Close your eyes again," Yasu said, exasperatingly calm. "Think of something that makes you feel at peace, a person or a place or an activity. Focus on that until that peace comes to you."

Ryo thought of home first, of the room that had been his for as long as he could remember, and the field where he rode his horse, and the abandoned tower he'd climb to when he wanted to get away from everything, where he could look out over the whole city and beyond. He felt a pang of homesickness; he was enjoying traveling, but there was a lot he missed at home.

That didn't seem to work, so he tried to think of people instead. Thinking about his family made him feel homesick too, and also nervous, wondering what his parents would say when he came home again, especially with Hiroki. He tried thinking about Hiroki, and for a second, he relaxed, but then he was flooded with all those confusing feelings he'd had the night before.

"I can't do this," he burst out, opening his eyes and getting to his feet.

"Ryo," Yasu said, slowly standing up. Hiroki was looking at him, a little surprised at the outburst. 

"This obviously isn't going to work for me," Ryo said, a little quieter but still just as frustrated. He had way too many things to think about; he couldn't just turn it off on command like that. 

"Let's talk for a second," Yasu said, putting a comforting hand on his shoulder as he led him away from where Hiroki was still sitting, looking after them. 

"No matter what I do, I can't stop thinking," Ryo admitted. 

"Thinking about what?" Yasu asked, looking at him with sympathetic eyes. Yasu was always infuriatingly calm and patient with him. It made Ryo feel a little guilty for his outburst but he couldn't just sit there and continue failing. It was getting to be too much.

"Home. My family." Then, a little quieter, "Hiroki." 

Yasu nodded, smiling at him, and Ryo felt himself relax a tiny bit. He felt like he could talk to Yasu, something about him making him feel safe spilling out all his worries even though they hadn't known each other that long. "You're worried about what your family will think when you go back?" he asked.

"That, yeah. But more so than that, if I do..." Ryo struggled with the words, feeling shy, "lo-like him like that, won't I just have to give it up when we get back? I can't exactly run away from my duty, even if I'm not sure I want to be king," he said all in a rush, then bit his lip, waiting to see how Yasu would react.

"You're thinking about the future a lot," Yasu said, patting his shoulder. 

"Isn't that...normal?" Ryo answered, confused about what Yasu was trying to get at.

"You're acting like it's over before it's even started," Yasu said. "You don't know what the future will bring. You should stop worrying so much and focus on the now." When Ryo still looked skeptical, he laughed shortly. "You'll regret not going for what you really want more than going for it and having it not work out," Yasu said.

Ryo wasn't really sure that was true but, in all fairness, he was getting pretty far ahead of himself. Maybe, just maybe, if he were to worry less about the future, he'd be able to focus on enjoying what he had. He smiled ruefully at Yasu. "You make it sound so easy."

Yasu laughed. "It's not. But you've got a lot to be happy about right now. Try to just be happy about it and leave it at that. I bet if you can manage that, thinking about Hiroki will help you make some magic."

Ryo rolled his eyes, but he had to laugh. "That's what he said too, but I don't think he meant the same thing."

Yasu found that hilarious, and Ryo felt like he should be embarrassed, but he wasn't really. He felt surprisingly at ease with Yasu, and that made him happy. He hadn't had a lot of friends like that in his life.

"Come on," Yasu said when he finally stopped laughing, patting Ryo on the back. "Let's try again."

When they got back to Hiroki, he was sitting quietly with his eyes closed, so Ryo sat down without a word and tried to clear his mind. He thought about what Yasu had said, about just letting himself be happy, and he tried to focus on that. It brought flashes of memories: Yasu and the others talking boisterously over dinner; his sister making faces at him to try to get him to laugh in front of important guests; waking up to Hiroki's arms around him.

That was when he felt it, although he couldn't really say what "it" was. A warmth, maybe, or more like electricity, starting in his chest and spreading out through his whole body. He held it there, somehow, feeling it grow stronger. He remembered how Hiroki had sent out an energy wave, so when it built up enough, he tried to send it out through his hands.

"Whoa," he heard Yasu say, and his eyes snapped open. The power dissipated in an instant when he lost his concentration, but it didn't matter because Yasu was grinning at him and it was obvious that he'd succeeded. "I knew you could do it!" Yasu said excitedly.

Ryo felt good, beaming back at him and then glancing over at Hiroki and feeling that warm feeling again. He wouldn't tell Hiroki who he'd thought of—that'd just go to his head—but apparently that was what he'd needed.

"Let's try again," Yasu said, and they both turned and focused again. Ryo closed his eyes and found it easier to relax, letting the power form inside of him. Yasu continued coaching them, and by the end of the lesson, Ryo was mentally exhausted and drained of energy. He was catching up with Hiroki, quite quickly now that he'd gotten the hang of it, and both of them were able to form rather lopsided balls of energy in the palms. 

"You've been making great progress, but we'll stop here for today," Yasu said, smiling widely at both of them. Hiroki stood up, a little stiff from being in one position for so long. Ryo winced as his back cracked. For how ridiculous he'd thought it was at first, this magic stuff wasn't easy.

"I'm hungry," Hiroki whined, and Ryo smiled fondly, shoving him to the side. 

"It's Hina's pasta tonight," Yasu told them. 

Hiroki looked pleased. "It was so good last time!"

"You might have noticed already, but it's always pasta when Hina cooks," Yasu commented, sounding amused. Ryo laughed shortly. He hadn't noticed, too caught up in other things, but even if they did have it every time, he didn't mind. Yoko liked to complain, but that was normal for him; he was skilled at finding a reason to complain, Ryo had learned. It should have annoyed him, but instead it made him smile a little; that was just one of the many things that made this group of people who they were, and he wouldn't change any of it.

 

Once he got the hang of clearing his mind and focusing his energies, Ryo found that he could do a lot. Nothing dramatic like the bands of multi-colored energy Yasu could send swirling through the air ("It's just a parlor trick," he said modestly when Ryo and Hiroki were awestruck by the display), but he could turn the ball of energy in his hand into fire that somehow didn't burn him, or channel it into his sword to make it hit harder and cut deeper.

"You're good at this, Ryo-chan," Hiroki said, looking genuinely impressed. He'd made it as far as forming balls of energy, but he couldn't seem to get the hang of doing anything with them.

"But fire won't do me much good against a dragon," Ryo grumbled. Yasu was trying to teach him to do the same with ice, but every attempt just caused the energy to dissipate completely.

"Don't be discouraged," Yasu told him. "Not everyone can do everything when it comes to magic. It's clear that fire is more your strength. We'll think of other ways for you to fight Johnny."

"At least you can do something," Hiroki whined good naturedly, but he didn't seem too bothered. He was probably used to Ryo being better at anything except for dealing with people.

"You'll figure it out," Yasu said reassuringly. "You have the energy there. You just need to work on your concentration to make it bend to your will."

 

It took more time and practice, but eventually Hiroki did figure it out. He couldn't summon fire or ice, but he could channel the energy through his sword, making his attacks suddenly more accurate than they'd ever been. "If only I'd learned how to do this years ago, I wouldn't have gotten laughed at for losing sparring matches all the time," Hiroki joked, but he looked very pleased with himself. They were making progress now.

"I think we're ready to go after Johnny," Yoko said over dinner a few days later. They had discussed the timing a little before, but they hadn't decided on a date. 

"When should we do it?" Ryo asked, feeling that familiar nervous excitement build in his stomach. He always got it before a sparring match or round of jousting, but this was so different; the stakes of this battle were a lot higher. They had all been training, but their lives were still very much at stake. 

"We've been watching Johnny's movements and it seems like he's been injured. His healing powers are quick, so we need to strike fast if we want to have any advantage," Yoko explained, pausing to take a large bite of mashed potatoes. Maru was cooking tonight; Ryo liked it when it was his turn.

"Tomorrow morning would be the best time," Hina added. Ryo whipped his head around. That was too soon, wasn't it? They had to prepare more. When he glanced at Hiroki, he saw that looked just as nervous as Ryo felt.

"You're both ready," Yasu said encouragingly, "and the moon's position would be optimal for channeling your energies." It sounded like things were coming together perfectly, but Ryo didn't know if they'd be able to face the dragon so soon. What if they weren't strong enough? 

"It isn't too sudden?" Hiroki asked, looking nervously between Yasu and Yoko. 

"You'll be fine," Subaru said, even though he wasn't normally one to join in on conversations like this. "Like Yasu said, you're ready." Ryo didn't doubt that Yasu was being honest with him, but when he looked at Hiroki, he felt like it wasn't right, flinching at the memory of him bleeding out in his arms. Hiroki shot him a concerned look, but he just shook his head, not wanting to make a big deal of it in front of everyone.

They discussed their plans for a while. Everyone had something to contribute to the fight, from Maru taking to the air to keep the dragon from flying away to Subaru trying to use the magic rock Sho had given them. "Are you sure it's worth trying?" Hiroki asked skeptically as he handed the rock over. "It didn't do us any good."

"Subaru's good with rocks," Hina explained. "It's a dwarf thing." Sure enough, in a matter of seconds, cold air started to emanate from the rock, and then ice formed on the surface. Subaru made a face and set it down, rubbing his cold hand on his leg.

Ryo had to laugh. "You make it look easy," Hiroki said. "If only we'd had your help last time."

"You will this time," Subaru said with a small smile.

 

They all went to bed early that night, wanting to be well rested for the fight tomorrow. Ryo and Hiroki got ready and got into bed in silence, both lost in their thoughts. Ryo was trying to focus on what Yasu had said, that they were ready this time, but he remembered far too clearly what had happened last time, the panic he'd felt seeing Hiroki bleeding in his arms. Even knowing that Ohkura would be there to heal any serious injuries didn't erase his worries; what if there was too much for him to fix?

"You okay, Ryo-chan?" Hiroki asked quietly. When Ryo snapped out of his reverie and looked at him, he gave a small, comforting smile, but it didn't make Ryo feel any better.

"I don't want you to go tomorrow," Ryo said in a small voice. "What if you get hurt again?"

"I won't. I've learned my lesson about charging straight at dragons. And we'll have a lot of help this time too." He leaned in to give Ryo a soft kiss. "I'll be fine. We both will."

Ryo kissed back, pulling him closer, but he still wasn't reassured. "I still think you should stay back," he said after they broke apart. "We can handle it without you."

Hiroki's smile faltered a bit. "I get that you're worried," he said softly, "but I have to do this."

"I can't…I don't want you to risk it," Ryo said. "You almost died." His hands slid over Hiroki's skin, unconsciously staying away from where he had been hurt even though there was nothing there now but perfectly smooth skin.

"We could both die right now," Hiroki countered. His face was pressed against Ryo's neck, his hands slowly starting to creep along Ryo's body, and despite his original intention of trying to make a point, Ryo was having a hard time remembering what it was.

"Walking into danger and having something random happen like that is different," he argued.

"I'm going with you anyway." Hiroki's hands kept sliding over his body, even though they were already very familiar with all of it. Ryo didn't make any move to stop him, his concentration slowly slipping away from him. 

"Hiroki," he murmured, his face feeling warm when Hiroki's lips pressed lightly against the side of his neck, fingertips trailing up and down his spine in long, steady strokes. He was trying to distract him and Ryo knew it, but it was working too well.

"Besides," Hiroki added with a grin, "I didn't spend all that time learning magic to not take my chance at revenge." He pressed their lips together, sliding even closer to Ryo and aligning their bodies. Ryo responded quickly, pushing the negative thoughts to the back of his mind and cupping Hiroki's jaw, taking control of the kiss, his body responding instantly to the soft moan Hiroki made.

"Hiroki..." Ryo tried again, one last attempt to get back to the point, but he couldn't do it. It was so much easier to let Hiroki distract him, especially since he was obviously not going to let Ryo talk him out of going after the dragon. He should have known; Hiroki never did what he told him to.

"Shh," was all Hiroki said in response. All Ryo's protests died on his tongue when Hiroki's hands slid down to touch him, and all he could think was that there was no way this could be the last time they were together like this.

 

Despite his worries, Ryo slept soundly and didn't wake up until someone knocked on the bedroom door. "What?" Hiroki mumbled sleepily.

The door opened and Ryo pried his eyes open to see Yasu standing in the doorway. "The earlier we get out there, the better," he said. "I thought you'd want a little time to wake up before we leave." He smiled, looking entirely too chipper for the early hour.

"Okay," Hiroki said, and Ryo gave a grunt of acknowledgment. Satisfied, Yasu left. "Ready?" Hiroki asked, pressing a kiss to Ryo's chin.

"No," Ryo mumbled. He didn't want to admit it, but he was scared, less for himself than for Hiroki and the others. He didn't want anyone getting hurt again because he wanted to kill a dragon.

"What kind of attitude is that for a dragon-slaying hero?" Hiroki teased. They dragged themselves out of bed, trying to wake up properly.

"I'm not a dragon-slaying hero yet," Ryo pointed out.

"No, but the right attitude counts for a lot." Hiroki grinned at him like he was trying to prove his point. "Anyway, if you're going to lead us against Johnny, you have to do it with confidence."

"I'm not really..." Ryo started, but he was leading, wasn't he? This was his quest, and he had to be confident that he could see it through to the end, and keep everyone fighting alongside him safe. That was part of being a prince, after all.

Hiroki laughed at him a little, shoving his sword belt at him and then putting on his own. 

"It'll all work out." Hiroki smiled at him. "It's been working out for us all along, hasn't it?" 

Ryo paused to think about that. In a weird way, it had been working out. Despite having just an incredibly vague prophecy to work from, they had managed to make it all the way here, running into people who could and would help them along the way. He could have easily lost Hiroki after he'd been hurt by Johnny, but Ohkura and the others had been there at just the right time to save him. Maybe this time it would work out too. 

"I guess," Ryo conceded. Hiroki's hand was warm on his shoulder, squeezing comfortingly as he leaned in. Ryo met him halfway, pressing their lips together softly. The door swung open and Ryo jumped back, startled. 

"Oh god," Ohkura yelped, his voice an octave higher. There was a beat of silence before he shifted awkwardly, finally opening his mouth to talk. "Breakfast, now," he mumbled, eyes averted even though they weren't kissing anymore. 

Hiroki at least had the courtesy to wait until Ohkura disappeared from the doorway before he laughed. "He should have knocked," he said, amused. Ryo nodded, then grabbed his sword before heading to the kitchen, Hiroki following right behind him. 

Breakfast was a little somber. Yoko was less talkative than usual and Maru's jokes were a bit more subdued, even though they were clearly trying to lighten the atmosphere. Everyone seemed to be mentally preparing for the battle ahead, and Ryo would be lying if he said he wasn't feeling nervous about it. The fight was finally happening, after weeks and weeks of trying to get here. It was exciting and terrifying at the same time, knowing that this was really going to happen, and it was going to happen now.

They gathered in the living room, Ryo and Hiroki with their swords, Subaru with the rock Sho had given them, and the others with nothing but themselves and their unique talents. "Ready to go?" Hina asked.

Ryo looked around the group. Their expressions held varying degrees of fear, excitement and determination. He expected Hiroki to look scared, but instead his jaw was set and he actually looked ready for battle (even if Ryo wasn't sure he really was).

Hiroki caught his eye and gave a grim sort of smile, and that's when Ryo realized they were all looking at him. "Let's go," he said.

Outside, Maru transformed and they all climbed onto his back and flew to the dragon's cave. They landed a short distance away, and then Maru took off again, positioning himself over Johnny's territory to keep him from flying away and escaping them. Ohkura leaned against a tree, staying back so he could heal anyone who was injured. The rest of them walked toward the cave. It was quiet; what if, after all this, the dragon wasn't even there?

No sooner had he thought that then Ryo heard what was unmistakably a snore, but not at all a human one. That answered his question, and it meant there was no backing out. When they got closer, he could see the dragon just inside the cave, dozing, but with one ear cocked.

"Cover your ears," Yoko whispered. Ryo did as he was told, along with all the others, while Yoko stepped a little closer to the cave.

Even with his ears covered, the yell Yoko gave was shockingly loud. It didn't do anything to Ryo except make him jump, but the others had explained that if he hadn't covered his ears, the sound would have temporarily stunned him. The effects wouldn't even last a minute, but it would give them a momentary advantage over the dragon.

Not wanting to waste that advantage, Ryo and the others charged. The dragon was awake now, trying to get up and stumbling like he was drunk. One of his wings was hanging strangely, and Ryo could see a half-healed wound where it met his body; that would be to their advantage too.

It took less than a minute for them to reach the dragon, but it felt like ages, and Ryo's heart was pounding in his ears, adrenaline coursing through him as he lifted his sword and lunged forward to bring it down against the dragon's flesh. It wasn't much, but with the help of the magic, the sword left a thin cut in the scales. The dragon roared in anger, lurching toward them, and that's when Hina struck, his palm coming down heavily on the dragon's head. Hina wasn't agile enough to dodge in time, so Maru dove down, pulling him out of the way of the dragon's mouth. Yoko's scream had done its job, but the winged beast was recovering. 

"Get back!" Ryo yelled, seeing trails of smoke dancing around the edge of the dragon's fangs, billowing out. He was going to breath fire. They all beat a hasty retreat, diving to either side of the cave as a hot, angry stream of fire shot out the front. Ryo's face felt hot, and the ground trembled a second later when Johnny roared. They had inflicted little damage to the dragon but had managed to seriously piss him off. 

Yasu had his hands clasped together and he looked focused, melodic words that Ryo couldn't understand flowing from his mouth. Subaru gripping the rock tightly in his palm next to them, body tense and gaze focused on the cave opening, ready to spring out. Ryo looked to his side, and Hiroki nodded at him, covering up his nervousness quite well even if his knuckles had gone white as he held his sword in hand. His face took on a determined set when the dragon finally lumbered out.

Subaru moved first, darting toward the dragon faster than Ryo had ever seen him move. He held the rock in front of him, and for a moment, Ryo was afraid it wouldn't work again, but then he pressed it against Johnny's hide and he recoiled, roaring in protest. Taking advantage of the dragon's distraction, Ryo and Hiroki both charged. Ryo's first slash missed, but Hiroki scored a hit, cheering when the dragon jerked away.

As the dragon whirled on Hiroki, his tail caught Subaru in the shoulder. He was only thrown a few feet, not like Ryo had been, but he stumbled to the ground, holding his injured shoulder. "Shibuyan!" Yasu yelled, breaking off his chant, and Hina ran over and picked Subaru up, carrying him back into the trees to where Ohkura was waiting.

Ryo didn't have time to dwell on it, not with Hiroki facing off against Johnny. Smoke was coming from his nostrils, and if he breathed fire now, Hiroki would be roasted. Ryo attacked, striking at the dragon's hide near his injured wing. His concentration was good and the magic helped his sword cut deep, letting Hiroki get out of the way.

"Ryo, look out!" someone yelled, and Ryo jumped back automatically. He didn't realize why until he noticed the aura of power around Yasu, far beyond anything he'd shown in their practice sessions.

"You shouldn't have hurt Subaru," Yoko said smugly as Yasu released all that energy in a wave of...Ryo wasn't sure what, exactly, but it knocked the dragon to the ground. He roared, deafeningly loud, and tried to get up, but Maru dove down to keep him from rising. Hina was back, and he and Yoko and Ryo and Hiroki all added their attacks to Maru's.

"The heart!" Yasu yelled, joining them.

Ryo concentrated all his energy, his desire to defeat the dragon and complete his quest and prove to himself that he was strong enough for anything, even being king, and willed that energy into his sword and stabbed with all his might at the center of the dragon's chest where Sho had told them his heart was. Despite the scales protecting it, his sword slid in easily, and Johnny let out one final roar before jerking a few times and finally going still.

There were a few moments of stunned silence and all Ryo could hear was the pounding of his heart and his own harsh breaths as he tried to calm down. Everything seemed frozen, almost unreal.

"We did it!" Hiroki cried after a moment, smiling even though his voice was a little shaky. The others cheered, coming over to pat Ryo on the back with huge grins on their faces. A feeling of accomplishment settled over him and Ryo beamed, the feeling surreal.

"Let's celebrate!" Yoko shouted. Yasu, with a fully-healed Subaru close by his side, cheered in agreement.

They returned home a little battered and tired but not at all ready to rest. Their spirits were at a high and it wasn't long before they brought out the alcohol and food. It was way too much but it tasted great and Ryo might have been drinking too much, but he didn't care, with Hiroki warm at his side and Yasu strumming out upbeat melodies in the living room. It was a party of sorts, and while he was still excited and pumped up from earlier, Ryo felt more comfortable and at home than he had in years, maybe ever. He smiled freely and laughed as they all joked around and Maru made up silly improvised songs. They were a ragtag group of creatures, but Ryo, as he looked around at all of them, realized that this felt righ, like he belonged here.

Hiroki nudged him questioningly, raising his eyebrows and grinning lopsidedly. He was drunk, swaying slightly. Ryo laughed, shaking his head, and Hiroki shrugged, accepting that. Ryo, not caring about the others seeing, covered Hiroki's hand with his own, lacing their fingers together.

"It's nice, isn't it?" Hiroki asked quietly, dropping his head onto Ryo's shoulder. "Being here. I do miss home, but...I really like it here."

"Me too," Ryo agreed. There were things he missed from home—his parents, his sister, his comfortable bed, and his favorite places in the castle—but there were things here that he'd never had at home, like a group of friends who didn't care that he was a prince and Hiroki warm against his side and a feeling that the world was his to explore, not a sort of prison restricting him to a single path.

It felt good, being here, but it made him sad too, because it couldn't last. He'd gone on this quest expecting to find self-confidence and clarity, to explore the world and come out of it feeling satisfied that he could go home and become a good king, having experienced life outside Osaka's borders. Instead, he only felt more uncertain about his future. How could he go home and become king when he'd seen how much more was out there? How could he marry some girl, any girl, after he'd finally realized what he felt for Hiroki?

Hiroki gave him another nudge, then raised his head to kiss Ryo. "Stop thinking so much," he murmured. Then, "I love you."

As he leaned in for another kiss, a thought occurred to Ryo, as sudden as a lightning bolt, and he snapped his head up. "What?" Hiroki asked, sounding confused and a little insulted. The others turned to them curiously, making Ryo feel self-conscious.

"What is it?" Yasu asked gently, with a smile that said Ryo could tell them anything (and only get mocked a little).

"Matchy—the seer I went to at the start of my quest," he started. "He told me a prophecy, or words, he called it, and it sounded so stupid that I forgot a lot of it, but..." He glanced at Hiroki and quickly looked away, blushing a little. "I remembered it all of a sudden, the last part. He said..." He laughed shortly, embarrassed. "He said, 'kiss is the master key.'"

Hiroki laughed too. "So what did you learn from kissing me?" he asked, half-jokingly.

"This is it," Ryo mumbled. He was blushing darker now, but as embarrassing as it was, he was so sure that he was right. "This is what I was looking for."

"That's so sappy," Hiroki teased, but he was smiling, and it might just be the lighting, but his cheeks seemed a little pink too. 

"Shut up." Ryo punched him half-heartedly in the shoulder.

"You can stay as long as you'd like," Yasu said with a soft smile. The others were looking at them with similar smiles, and Hina nodded his agreement.

"Thanks," Ryo murmured automatically, but then the words sank in. Could he really stay here? He knew, with more certainty the more he thought about it, that he didn't want to give this up, not these guys or Hiroki. He was happy here.

But a feeling of trepidation was bubbling up inside of him. How could he leave his family and his homeland and give up on being king? It wasn't so much not being king that bothered him as the thought of having to tell his father. What would his family think? Would they be able to understand or would they hate him for it?

"No thinking, just drinking," Maru said, pushing a glass of sweet blue liquor into his hand. He held it up into the light and it shimmered gold. This was new to Ryo, but apparently it was a famous drink from Maru's country. There were still many things in this world that Ryo hadn't seen, and that made him want even more to stay here and find out more.

"Right," Ryo said, grinning sheepishly before taking a sip from the drink. It was sweet, almost too sweet for his taste but Hiroki next to him was practically inhaling it. Hiroki had always preferred the fruity wine they'd served with dessert in Osaka, as had his sister. Ryo stopped himself before his mind drifted back to his family and his kingdom. Maru was right: he could think about that later. Right now, he had a lot to celebrate.

 

It was almost morning before Ryo and Hiroki finally stumbled to bed, completely worn out (as much from the celebrating as from the fighting), but happy. Hiroki got in bed first, dragging Ryo after him and pulling him close despite Ryo's half-hearted objections. "Ryo-chan," he murmured against Ryo's neck. From the little giggle that accompanied it, Ryo was expecting a joke, but then he continued in a low voice, "Do you really want to stay here?"

"Yes," Ryo said immediately, too drunk to question or hold back his feelings. Then he added, a little more hesitant, "Do you?"

"I want to stay with you," Hiroki said. It wasn't quite an answer, but Ryo was tired and he didn't think he could handle a serious conversation now. Hiroki must have felt the same because before Ryo could say anything, he said, "Let's talk in the morning. Goodnight, Ryo-chan."

"Goodnight," Ryo said, and before he could even think anything else, he was asleep.

 

Ryo woke up much later, groggy but not hungover. (Thank goodness for magic.) Hiroki was still asleep and holding onto him, so he stayed where he was, smiling a little to himself as he thought about how much Hiroki's clinginess had annoyed him not very long ago. How quickly things changed; not much long before that, he'd believed without question that one day he would succeed his father and become king and live out his days in Osaka. Now, the thought was hard to bear.

Before he could dwell on that, Hiroki stirred and then opened his eyes. "Morning," he mumbled, letting go of Ryo to stretch. "Magic alcohol is the best," he added with a grin.

"Yeah," Ryo agreed.

"Should we get up?" Hiroki asked. "We probably slept for a long time."

"I guess." It seemed to Ryo that they should talk, but thinking about it made him nervous. What if Hiroki didn't feel the same about wanting to stay? What if he did? If they were in agreement, then it was as good as decided, and that was scary.

Hiroki sat up but didn't try to get out of bed, looking thoughtfully at Ryo. "You meant it, didn't you?" he said. "What you said about wanting to stay here."

"I...yeah," Ryo said. "I mean...I was never really sure that what I wanted was to get married and become king and everything else my parents expected of me, but now I know it's not. I want to see what's out there, what kind of creatures and what magic that we still haven't seen, and...everything. And I want to stay here with these guys, for now, anyway. But...not if you don't want to." He didn't want to make Hiroki feel guilty, but it was true; he didn't want to stay alone.

Hiroki bit his lip. "Won't you miss your family?" he asked.

"It's not like we'll never see them again. If Maru took us there, I bet it wouldn't even take that long." He wasn't sure his family would _want_ to see him again once he told them his decision, but it wasn't impossible.

Hiroki was silent for a long time and Ryo waited nervously for his answer, not sure which possibility scared him more. Finally, he gave a little smile and said, "There really is a lot more to see, isn't there?" Seeing Ryo's uncertainty, he grinned. "That means I want to stay. I want to get better at magic, and Tacchon promised he'd take me to see what other fairies are like, and...well, I want to be with you, of course." Despite his slightly-amused smile, Ryo could see he meant it.

“You, umm, I...” Ryo stammered, then shook his head ruefully, not minding that Hiroki laughed at him. He felt really happy, and relieved, somehow, like a weight had been lifted from his shoulders, even though there was still a lot to figure out. “Do you think they'll let us stay?" he wondered out loud. Yasu had offered, and the others had agreed, but maybe they hadn’t realized that Ryo wanted to stay there indefinitely.

"I think so," Hiroki said, smiling reassuringly. He looked happy too, and that made Ryo smile wider.

“I guess we should go ask,” Ryo said. "We need to get dressed.” His legs were still tangled with Hiroki's under the blankets, but he reluctantly sat up. He could smell breakfast being cooked, and he belatedly realized that he was hungry. They got dressed quickly, and Ryo started to think about what he would have to do to make this work. He knew what he wanted, but now he would somehow have to get all the pieces to fit together just right. 

"Don't be so nervous," Hiroki said softly, pressing his lips against Ryo's before pulling back with a slight grin on his face, like he was just about to laugh at him. Ryo muttered something vaguely irritated under his breath; he wasn't completely calm, but he wasn't that nervous. That didn't stop Hiroki from laughing at him, but Ryo rolled his eyes and ignored him, opening the door and stepping out into the living room.

Yasu and Maru were already setting the table, and they smiled and greeted them. Hiroki started helping them, while Ryo went into the kitchen to help bring out the food. Soon, they were all seated around the table.

They made idle conversation for a while before Ryo finally worked up the nerve to speak. “I, umm...” he started nervously. He wasn’t loud enough to be heard over the noisy conversation, so he tried again, louder, “I wanted to ask you something.”

Everyone went quiet, except for Yoko who kept laughing for a beat after the conversation stopped and then made a half-annoyed, half-embarrassed face. “Go ahead,” he said.

“You said yesterday, but we didn’t know if you really—that is, we don’t want to impose on you, but—“

“We’d like to stay here,” Hiroki finished for him. “For as long as you’ll have us.”

"You want to stay?" Hina asked, looking surprised. The nervousness from earlier came rushing back; maybe the invitation hadn’t been serious after all.

"We would, I mean, if that's okay?" Hiroki said quickly, sounding hopeful. 

The others looked thoughtfully at each other, but it didn't take more than a few seconds before they found their answer. "Of course you can," Yasu said, a huge grin spreading across his face. “As long as you want. Forever, if you want.”

"Just keep it down at night," Ohkura mumbled, but even he didn't sound displeased at the idea of them staying. Ryo shot him an apologetic look, feeling himself blushing a little.

"I don't get you and Subaru," Yoko said. “Why would princes give up palaces for this.” He gestured around the room, making a disparaging sound. But despite his grumbling, he sounded more happy than anything.

Subaru shrugged, winking at Ryo before going back to his breakfast. Maru said nothing but beamed at them, loading more food on their plates. 

Ryo took a deep breath, relieved that everything was working out. He looked around the table and he couldn't help smiling widely at all of them. Hiroki caught his hand under the table and squeezed it, and Ryo didn’t have to look at him to know that he was grinning too. He felt happy and relaxed and, above all, at home here. He knew, after all his uncertainty and wandering, that this was where he wanted to be.

 

**Epilogue**

 

Ryo waved back at the five rapidly-dwindling figures seeing them off as Maru rose into the sky. He was in a slightly different shape than his usual bird form, with a smaller body and larger wings, since they didn’t need to carry much and wanted to make quick progress. They had a long way to go, although Maru assured them that it wouldn’t take long at all.

“I keep forgetting how pretty it is here,” Hiroki commented, looking down at the valley spread out below them. It really was beautiful, the vibrant colors still surprising Ryo a little every time he saw them.

They flew across the valley and over the mountains surrounding it, high enough that the air got cold and they clung tightly to Maru’s feathers (or, more accurately, Ryo clung to Maru and Hiroki clung unnecessarily tightly to him). The trek that had taken them days was over in an hour and they flew lower to the ground as they neared the village.

“I hope there’s no brimstone today,” Ryo said, eyeing the clouds ahead of them. But when they reached them, they were only ordinary clouds, and there wasn’t even any rain; Jun must be in an okay mood today.

Maru landed in a clearing right outside of town, and once Ryo and Hiroki had climbed off his back, he changed back to his human form with a soft pop. “You two go ahead,” he said. “I’ll wait here.” Hiroki had told him stories about Jun and Nino, so Ryo wasn’t surprised he didn’t want to meet them.

When Aiba opened the door to the house, his eyes widened comically and he yelled, “Sho-chan!” The cry brought Sho and Nino running, and Jun appeared behind them a moment later.

“You’re alive,” Nino said, and although his tone was bland, Ryo thought he detected a hint of a twinkle in his eye, like he might actually be a little bit happy about it.

“You’re alive!” Sho echoed more enthusiastically. “Did you find him? Did you defeat Johnny?”

Ryo shared a glance with Hiroki and then grinned at Sho. “We did,” he said. “With a little help.”

It made Ryo laugh when Sho began asking questions a mile a minute. Clearly they were going to have to spend a little time here. They did owe it to Sho; even if his information had almost gotten them killed, they wouldn't have been able to find Johnny without it, and they wouldn't have met the others either. He spared a glance toward where they'd left Maru, but he was pulled into the cottage before he could protest.

Sho's eyes lit up as Ryo described the battle step by step. "So the stone did work!" he exclaimed gleefully

"I didn't have much luck with it, but Subaru managed to make it work in the end," Hiroki said diplomatically, not mentioning how he'd almost died along the way. "We brought it back for you, actually." He pulled the stone from his pocket and held it out to Sho. "As a kind of souvenir."

Sho's excitement was almost embarrassing, as he flailed and even hugged Hiroki. "I never thought I'd have the stone that was used to kill the dragon Johnny in my collection!" Ryo decided that it was better not to point out that the stone had only played a small role in the dragon's death.

"So are you two together yet?" Nino asked all of a sudden, timing it perfectly so Ryo choked on his tea and very nearly spat it out. He started coughing and Aiba pounded his back a few times, the force pushing him forward a little.

"I...uh...we..." Ryo stammered, looking to Hiroki for help.

Nino cackled and yelled towards the kitchen where Jun was cooking something, "I win, Jun. Pay up." Ohno came trudging down the stairs a few moments later, the noise apparently having woken him up from a nap. He looked vaguely surprised to see them, but then he yawned, stretched, and acknowledged them with a short wave before he sprawled out on the couch.

Nothing much had changed, Ryo noted, still squirming under Nino's knowing smirk. Jun soon appeared and set down the tray of snacks on the table in front of them, looking a little disgruntled.

They stayed for a little longer before Ryo noticed that it was already past noon. "We have a friend waiting so we should get going soon," he said politely. It had been nice catching up with Sho and the others, but they had other places to go. They would need to reach the seaside before it got too dark.

"What about your horses?" Sho asked as they headed towards the door. "They're still here." 

Hiroki frowned. "That's right."

"We'll leave them with you, if that's okay?" Ryo asked, looking towards Sho. "We don't really need them now."

"Okay," Sho said. "You can come back some time if you need them. It would be good to see you again." He and the others (except Ohno, who'd gone back to sleep) waved them off as they headed back toward the edge of town where Maru was waiting for them.

"Sorry it took so long," Hiroki said. "They wouldn't let us go." He offered Maru the food they'd brought him, which he wolfed down.

"Flying sure builds up an appetite," he said cheerfully. "Let's get going." With that, he changed again, and Ryo and Hiroki climbed onto his back.

This part of their journey took longer, but it was easier too, flying over level ground. They passed over the grasslands, making Ryo glad they wouldn't have to sleep there again, and then the forest that didn't look so bad from up in the air. At last, the sea came into view in the distance.

"What if Tegoshi is singing?" Hiroki asked. If they tried to go to him now, they'd fall to their deaths.

Maru suddenly gave a loud squawk. It hurt Ryo's ears a little, but he supposed it would do the trick. The others would know they were coming now.

Sure enough, when they landed in front of the familiar house, Koyama and Tegoshi were waiting for them. As soon as they climbed down to the ground, Koyama ran forward and gave Hiroki a big hug. "I'm so glad you're okay," he said, sounding like he might be crying a little.

"I told you he was," Kato said, emerging from the house.

"And I would've believed you if you actually believed it," Koyama shot back, releasing Hiroki and quickly wiping away some tears. "Anyway, your other vision about Hiroki was obviously wrong."

"Not exactly," Hiroki said. "It happened just like he said."

"But you're alive," Tegoshi pointed out.

"There's not a lot our healer can't cure," Maru put in from behind Ryo, having changed back amidst the commotion.

They went through a round of introductions, which were repeated when Massu showed up, and then again for Yamapi and Kusano. Koyama insisted that they should stay the night, which was fine with Ryo since it was getting dark and they had too much further to go before their final stop to make it tonight. Maru went to bed right after dinner, saying he wanted to rest up for the next day's journey, but Ryo and Hiroki stayed up with the others.

"So, you finally got together, huh?" Koyama said with a big wink, looking at Shige for some reason.

"Everyone's very interested in our love life, aren't they, Ryo-chan?" Hiroki commented, not seeming bothered by it.

Ryo laughed a bit wearily. They'd already gone through trying to dodge all of Nino's embarrassing questions. He'd come expecting the prodding, especially from Koyama, but there was something a little weird about it. “Um,” he responded intelligently. There really wasn't any reason to hide it; it seemed like they already knew.

“Hey, so that makes it two for two then, right Shige?” Kusano said, a little louder than necessary, and Shige's face instantly turned red.

Hiroki and Ryo shared a look of confusion. They had only heard about one vision; what was this about a second?

“It's good to see that everything worked out,” Shige mumbled at the table, not making eye contact with either of them.

“Thanks,” Hiroki said for both of them when Ryo didn't say anything else. It was a relief that he didn't press for more information about something that would clearly embarrass them (or Ryo, anyway).

The rest of the night passed by quickly. It was like no time had passed since they'd stayed here, even though a lot had happened to them. The atmosphere was light and comfortable now that the embarrassing topics had been set aside.

“It's kind of late…” Koyama started when the embers in the fireplace were glowing a low red. Ryo and Hiroki were both feeling it; they wanted to stay up and talk more, but they needed to be up early for the rest of the journey.

“We should sleep,” Hiroki said, sounding a little disappointed. He and Koyama had spent the past hour exchanging embarrassing stories about Ryo and Shige. Ryo would be more annoyed if he hadn't had enough of the special wine to not care anymore.

They slipped quietly into the same room they'd stayed in the first time around;. Maru was already curled up on one of the futons, sound asleep, and didn't react at all to them coming in.

They both pulled off their jackets. Hiroki, a little tipsy from the wine, pulled Ryo closer by the collar of his shirt, lips pressing wetly against his. “Maru will wake up,” Ryo whispered, reluctantly pushing him away after a few seconds.

Hiroki pulled back, looking thoughtful for a moment before he started laughing, his hand flying up to cover his mouth in vain, giggles still escaping between his fingers.

“What?” Ryo hissed, trying to shush Hiroki before he woke Maru up. He didn't need to, apparently; Maru just rolled over, still snoring softly.

“Remember how Shige always got embarrassed around us?" Hiroki started in a low whisper. "Practically whenever I'd touch him,” 

“Yeah, and?” Ryo asked, not following him. It had seemed to him that Shige had a thing for Hiroki, and that thought annoyed him a little more than he'd like to admit, even if he didn't think Shige had any chance now.

“ _And_ he sees the future. What if he saw us…kissing and stuff?” Hiroki sounded like he desperately wanted to start laughing again.

It made a certain amount of incredibly embarrassing sense. That would explain Kusano's comment, if Shige had had a vision (or several) of them together. Ryo felt his face turning red thinking about it; did everyone really have to know all the details of their private life?

"Don't be so serious, Ryo-chan," Hiroki chided. "Are you embarrassed to be with me?"

"Of course not!" Ryo said in an angry huff, belatedly remembering to lower his voice.

"Then it doesn't matter who knows. Right?"

Ryo wasn't entirely convinced, but he nodded anyway. He was never going to be completely comfortable with everyone knowing his business like this, but all that really mattered was that he and Hiroki were happy together. Besides, it wasn't so bad having friends who cared enough to pry annoyingly. He didn't say that, though, just gave Hiroki a quick kiss and whispered, "Goodnight."

 

They woke up early the next morning, since they still had a long way to go. "Do you really have to go so soon?" Koyama asked, pouting a little.

Hiroki turned to Ryo with a look that said he was close to giving in, but Ryo said, "Sorry, but we need to get home. We've been away a long time."

Koyama didn't look thrilled, but it was hard to argue with that. "Have a safe trip," he said, "and come visit us again some time soon."

"We will," Hiroki promised.

They said their goodbyes and then set out again in the direction of Osaka. Ryo was starting to feel nervous now that seeing his family again was less of a hypothetical future event and more something that would happen by the end of the day. Hiroki was excited, talking at length about how great it would be to see his mom after so long. He probably wanted to distract Ryo from his worries, but it didn't help. Hiroki's parents might be angry about him running off and sad about him wanting to move far away from them, but he didn't have Ryo's responsibilities. Ryo had no idea how his parents would take the news that he not only didn't want to be king but wanted to leave Osaka, maybe forever.

This part of the journey seemed much longer than the others. It was, but not by as much as it seemed. Ryo was torn between wanting to arrive already and get it over with and wanting to put it off for as long as he possibly could. But regardless of what he wanted, they got there in the early afternoon. "Don't land too close," Ryo told Maru. "Nobody here has seen anything like you and we don't want them to try to shoot you down."

Maru landed a safe distance from the castle and transformed to his usual form, and they started walking. Hiroki was full of nervous excitement, while Ryo was just plain nervous. "Won't it be great to see your family again?" Maru asked cheerfully, trying to dispel the tension.

"If they don't disown me," Ryo muttered.

"They wouldn't do that," Hiroki said.

"We'll see," Ryo said, not quite as optimistic as Hiroki. He hoped that Hiroki was right, but what he was about to do was big. It wasn't just admitting that he didn't want to get married; he needed to tell his parents that he didn't want to be king at all. He wasn't confident that his father would forgive him for that so easily, if at all.

They were passing through the outskirts of the town and no one paid them much attention. It made sense with the way they were dressed; Ryo had left his best clothes at home, and the ones he had brought were well worn from the journey. 

"There are a lot of people here," Maru commented, looking around at all the houses as they got closer to the castle. There were more people now that they were getting close to the market. As soon as they found a guard, they'd be ushered inside. For right now, at least, Ryo was enjoying seeing Osaka again. Even if he didn't want to rule Osaka, it didn't mean that he didn't feel any affection for where he'd grown up. It was still his home.

"Right?" Hiroki said proudly. "Osaka has been the most powerful kingdom in the area for decades."

Ryo smiled, trying to push away his nervousness. He could faintly see the steep stone walls surrounding the palace. The moment he'd have to face his parents was fast approaching and he needed to be strong when he did it. It was scary, but he couldn't waver in his conviction.

They made it all the way to the guards' gate without being noticed, and Ryo stood tall as a guard marched up to them. They might seem like ragtag travelers from a distance, but recognition seemed to dawn on the guard as he got closer.

"You'll be fine," Hiroki whispered, flashing him a quick smile before standing behind him. Maru patted his shoulder and fell in beside Hiroki. He wasn't alone in this, at least.

"Prince Ryo?" the guard asked, unable to hide his surprise.

"I need to see my father," Ryo said. "Please let us through."

"Right away," the guard said, moving out of the way. He gave Maru a skeptical glance but didn't question him; Ryo was still the prince, after all, even if he'd been gone a long time.

They were allowed to walk unescorted into the castle, but the guard must have spread the word of their arrival because they hadn't been walking for more than two minutes when someone came flying around the corner and right at Ryo. He almost dodged out of the way except that he realized a few seconds before she threw herself into his arms that it was his sister. "Oniichan, you idiot," she mumbled into his shoulder.

"I'm back," Ryo said, awkwardly holding her. He loved his sister, of course, but in that way where he would never in a million years say so. This was a little embarrassing.

"Don't overdo it, Moe-chan," Hiroki said, sounding way too amused, "or he'll run away again without even talking to anyone."

Ryo glared at Hiroki over her head, but he couldn't be too angry because it worked. Moe let go and fixed Ryo with a similar glare. "I was starting to think you'd never come back." Then the glare mellowed out a bit and she added, "I missed you."

"Me too," Ryo mumbled.

Moe laughed a little but let it go, saying, "Come on. Mother and Father will never forgive me if I don't take you to them right away."

Ryo's heart sank at that, even though he'd been preparing himself for it all day. Maybe it would be better to get it over with, but he was incredibly nervous at the thought of having to explain to his parents everything he'd decided.

They walked all too quickly to his father's chambers. Ryo was too worried to make conversation, but Hiroki introduced Maru and started talking about their adventures, glad to have an enthusiastic audience. He was right in the middle of talking about the dragon when they reached the door, but Ryo shushed him before knocking.

"Come in," came his father's voice. When Ryo opened the door, his mother was there too, and both of them gave him looks that made him feel like a misbehaving little kid again. "So you decided to come back?" his father said, no hint of sarcasm in his tone.

"Y-yes," Ryo stammered, hoping he didn't look as nervous as he felt. He bowed deeply and said to the floor, "I'm truly sorry for running away like that. It was irresponsible and I know I must have caused you a lot of trouble." He knew that he should probably say that it had been the wrong thing to do, but he couldn't. He didn't regret running away one bit.

"You did," his father said sharply. After a moment, he continued, "You've finished with this...little adventure of yours?" He eyed Maru questioningly, and he bowed his head politely.

"Yes," Ryo said, gathering up the courage to tell his father that he'd made a decision.

"Good. Then all his forgiven," his father said dismissively, waving them off.

Hiroki looked at Ryo a little shocked. "Father..." Ryo started. He definitely hadn't been expecting a response like that.

"We'll talk later. I was in the middle of meeting with advisors when you came back." His mother shot him a worried look but said nothing, so they all bowed out of the room. It was no good arguing when his father used that decisive tone.

Once they were safely outside, Ryo avoided looking at Hiroki. He didn't feel guilty, exactly, but he knew things were not even close to being settled with his father, even if it wasn't entirely his fault.

With nothing else to do in the meantime, they headed to Ryo's quarters. Maru was in awe of the palace, and Ryo found himself looking at it with new eyes after all his time away. It felt familiar, but in a strange, distant sort of way. It was still his home and it always would be in a way, but it didn't feel like where he belonged anymore. He'd changed too much to fit in here.

When they were safely behind closed doors, Hiroki turned on Ryo. "What are you going to do now?" he asked, half accusing and half whining. "Your dad is probably planning your wedding right this minute."

"I'll tell him," Ryo said with confidence he didn't feel. "I won't change my mind now."

"Just don't wait too long," Hiroki said, still pouting. He was probably just as nervous as Ryo. He had sort of stolen away the crown prince, and while he had less pressure to marry and succeed his father, his parents still might not be very accepting.

"I know," Ryo grumbled. He didn't want to wait either, more than ready to get this over with.

"So," Maru interrupted, breaking the tension in the room. "Nice place you've got."

"You want to see more of it?" Ryo offered. He couldn't just sit here and dwell on the upcoming confrontation for however many hours it would take for his father to finish his meeting. Maru grinned and nodded enthusiastically.

"I'll come back later," Hiroki said. "I need to see my parents." He excused himself with a bit of a grim smile, and then Ryo and Maru set off.

He showed Maru around the castle and the grounds, taking their time walking around. They talked about nothing in particular, Maru asking questions about Osaka and Ryo's life there. It was a good distraction, but it also made him nervous and a little sad. What if, after he told his parents everything, he wasn't welcome here anymore? He didn't want to stay, but he also didn't want to never see this place again.

It seemed like forever (and yet still too soon) before a servant came to find them. "The king requests your presence at dinner," he said politely, than added with a pointed look at Maru," alone." He bowed and left.

"Sorry," Ryo told Maru. "If you can find your way back to my rooms, I'll meet you there after."

"Okay," Maru said, then a little wryly, "Good luck."

Ryo made his way back to the main hall, trying to psych himself up a bit but mostly failing. He felt even more nervous when he stepped into the dining room, seeing his father sitting at the head of the long table, his mother at his right.

"Ryo, sit." His father motioned to the chair to his left. Ryo nodded and sat down, noticing the unusual lack of servants. It appeared that his father wanted privacy for this talk, which made him feel both relieved and even more nervous.

"Eat a little," his mother urged, offering him a comforting smile, and he noticed that his place was full of food, the kind of food he hadn't eaten in months. That got a tiny smile from him; he'd missed home in some ways, even if he was sure he couldn't—wouldn't stay.

"What did you do on this quest of yours?" his mother asked. She probably meant well, but calling it that sounded kind of mocking now.

"Ah, lots of stuff," Ryo mumbled. He wanted to talk about it, to tell his parents how much he'd seen and done, but he didn't know where to start. "I slayed a dragon."

It sounded absurd saying it like that, and the looks on his parents faces made him want to laugh. No one here had even seen a real dragon; as far as anyone in Osaka was concerned, they were mythical, old wives tales. "There is so much else out there," he started, feeling excitement bubble up under his worry at the chance to share all the things he and Hiroki had seen.

"Good," his father said vaguely, like he was still distracted by the dragon comment. "I'm glad it seems that you'll be an able king after all. Now that you're back, it's time to discuss mar—"

"Wait," Ryo cut in. Both his parents stared at him; you didn't interrupt the king. "Sorry," he added immediately, but he couldn't back down now. "But this is important. I know you have a lot of plans for me. I know there's a lot that I'm supposed to do now that I'm here. But I can't do it. I won't do it."

His parents were still staring at him, uncomprehending. It shouldn't surprise him; to them, this was coming out of nowhere. "I'm sorry," he said, then took a deep breath and continued, "I don't want to be king." It couldn't get much clearer than that.

"What?" his father exploded.

"You can't mean that," his mother said. "Why would you say that?"

"What do you mean?" his father snapped. "You're the crown prince. You're my only son. You have to be king."

"I can't," Ryo said. "I mean, I don't want to anymore." The anger in his father's expression was terrifying, but Ryo steeled himself. He had to do this. "I've gone out and seen the world now, and I know that this isn't what I want, ruling over Osaka and seeing nothing but the same familiar sights all the time. I want to explore and meet new, different people. I want to decide my own path and I don't...I don't want to marry some girl you think suits me."

"is that what this is about?" his father asked gruffly. "Not wanting to get married?"

"It's not—" Ryo started, but his mother cut him off.

"Is there someone?" she asked. "Did you meet someone?"

"Uh, not quite. I mean, sort of...there is..." Ryo stammered, all of his earlier determination and confidence failing him. He'd thought telling them he didn't want to be king would be the hard part, but somehow this was scarier.

"Ryo?" his mother prompted.

"Hiroki," he mumbled. "It's...I...we..." He couldn't find the words to explain, but surely they must realize what he was trying to say.

The look his father gave him was a little disdainful, but after the initial shock passed, his mother gave him a strange sort of small smile. "I see," she said. "And is it because of him that you suddenly don't want to be king anymore?"

"No," Ryo answered immediately. "A little, maybe, but...we met these people—magical creatures, a fairy and a dwarf and all kinds of strange things I never thought existed. They helped us against the dragon and then they invited us to stay with them, and...I want to. I think that's what I should do, stay with them and learn about their world. Think of what we could do if we learned more about magic, or built relations with the magical kingdoms out there..." His speech became impassioned without him realizing it as he thought about how everything he'd seen out there could change Osaka, make it even better.

"I see," his father said, sighing and rubbing his temples. He was silent for a long time, thinking, before he finally said, "I'm not happy about this, but you may have a point. Let me think about how to make this work."

Ryo sighed, feeling lighter now that he'd told them everything. He didn't know what would happen, but at least it was all out there, and his father didn't seem as angry now. Ryo couldn't fault him for being a little annoyed now that he had to figure out who would rule the kingdom after him in Ryo's stead.

That made him think of something. "One of my friends," he started, looking thoughtfully at his parents, "a dwarf, is also like me...a prince, I mean, even though he's not next in line. But actually, his mother is the one who rules their kingdom. What if..." He didn't want to force anything on his sister, not when he knew all too well what that pressure felt like, but she was smart and driven and might very well make a better king than Ryo ever could.

"The law doesn't explicitly say that only a man can rule..." his mother commented. She smiled at Ryo, something like pride in her eyes.

"That's true..." His father looked lost in thought. Considering that Ryo had dropped two very large bombshells on his parents, they were taking it better than he'd expected them to, but this might be asking too much. "She's not ready," he concluded.

"No," his mother said. "But she could be. There's still time."

His father was frowning, but it seemed he was giving the matter serious consideration. "Have someone send for your sister," his mother told Ryo, not waiting for him to come to a conclusion. He obeyed, pleased with the way this was going, asking the guard outside the door to send for Moe.

She came quickly, looking confused. "I thought you wanted to talk to oniichan alone," she said.

"There's something we want to talk to you about too," his mother said.

When the king didn't say anything, she gave him a pointed look. "Well," he started, clearing his throat. "How would you like to be the king—I mean, queen?"

"Eh?! What? Really?" Moe looked shocked and confused, but excited too, so there was no mistaking her feelings on the matter. "What about oniichan?"

"He'll..." Their father frowned. "It wouldn't do to say you turned it down. Maybe we'll create a new post for you. Something like...Ambassador to the Magical Kingdoms?"

"But that means you'll have to come back and see us to report sometimes, okay?" his mother put in. "No leaving forever."

"Yes, of course," Ryo said quickly, still a little shocked. He couldn't believe this was all going so smoothly. He could be with Hiroki and the others and travel and still help his homeland. It was exciting, and he found himself starting to smile even before his father had finished working out the details of his new role.

"You'll have to talk to these other kingdoms and their leaders," his father warned. "Real work, Ryo, not just running around with these new friends of yours." The prospect of actually talking to people, bothering with diplomacy, was unappealing and kind of intimidating, but at least he had Hiroki, the loudmouth, to help with that. He felt confident for the first time in a while that everything would work out.

"Thank you," he said, bowing deeply. "I won't disappoint you."

"Very well," his father said, sounding a little uncomfortable. "You'll stay at least long enough for us to announce this to the people and establish some guidelines for your new position. For now, you can go."

Ryo all but ran back to his quarters, happy when he found Maru and Hiroki there. "What happened?" Hiroki asked. "I didn't expect you to come out of there smiling like an idiot."

"It's okay," Ryo said, realizing that he was, in fact, smiling like an idiot. "They said that Moe can be king—queen and I can be an ambassador so it's okay if I leave and I can stay with you and—"

He broke off when Hiroki stood up and pulled him into a big hug, followed by a kiss. He was grinning too, and when he tried to find something to say, he just shook his head and hugged Ryo tigether. It felt unbelievable after all the worrying and uncertainy, but somehow Ryo knew that everything would be okay. He had Hiroki and his new friends and his family too, and finally, he felt like his life was just what he wanted it to be.

 

The flight back went quickly compared to the way there, Ryo feeling light and free now that all his worries had been dealt with. He was excited to get back and really start his new life in what would be his new home.

He looked around as they descended into the valley, admiring the bright colors anew. Soon, the garden came into view, and the dogs' pen, and finally the house. Yasu was outside, and he waved when he saw them and then opened the front door and yelled something inside.

Maru landed and changed back with a pop, and they walked toward the house. Ryo found himself smiling, and Hiroki nudged him with his shoulder and gave him a matching grin. They reached the door and Ryo opened it and found the others all gathered inside. He considered for a moment, then smiled a little shyly and said, "I'm home."


End file.
